Legacy: Part One
by Ryeloza
Summary: The story of the Charmed Ones' lives before they were Charmed, beginning with Victor and Patty's relationship. UPDATED!
1. Author's Notes

**Disclaimer:** Nothing in the _Charmed _universe belongs to me. I'm just borrowing it for awhile.

**Author's Notes:**

**6/30/07: **I updated!! I know most of you are probably frozen in shock at the moment, but believe it. I am back after a 13 month hiatus. And with the wedding chapter, no less!

To those of you who are reading this, I thank you for sticking with this story despite how long it has been since I've added to it. You guys are the best.

For the most part, I did not work on this story for so long because this has been the craziest, busiest year of my life. Last summer I took two classes as well as did an internship (unfortunately unpaid). In the fall I decided to take 25 credits, primarily because adding some stuff to my schedule gave me the opportunity to go to Spain for two weeks in December/January. That trip, of course, is why I didn't update over my winter break. And this past semester I student taught, which was basically a full time job without pay. I loved it, a lot, but it didn't leave me a lot of energy to be creative.

Excuses aside, I am proud to say that chapter 28 is finally posted. Hopefully my updates won't be as ridiculously far apart now, but we'll see.

Once again, thank you to those of you who didn't give up on this story. I really hope you enjoy this chapter.

_Katie_

**5/27/06: **I'm not actually convinced that I'm satisfied with this chapter, but I thought I'd post it anyway. Mostly, I think, because I'm extremely eager to get to the next chapter, which will be the LONG awaited wedding chapter. Yay!

Thank you all for the fabulous reviews. I greatly appreciate every one. You guys are amazing!

_Katie_

**5/21/06: **Oh boy. I really did it this time. I think that's a record wait.

For those of you who stuck with me through this ridiculously long hiatus, thank you so much. You are the most patient people in the world.

Like I said in my last a/n, my semester was absolutely insane. I have never had to do so much work and I am so thankful that it is over. Hopefully I will get a good deal of work done on this over the summer, and the updates will make up for my four month absence.

Once again, I'm really sorry that I was so horrible with this story the past few months. Hope you enjoy.

_Katie_

**1/31/06: **Ah! And I manage to take a really long time yet again. I'm so sorry.

Just as a 411 for what to expect about updates over the next couple of months:

I am currently taking 21 credits and working on my senior capstone for my major (it's like a thesis paper and will take from now until Thanksgiving to write). School, therefore, has become my life. Because of how crazy this is, I don't know how often to expect updates. Hopefully they won't be too scarce, but who knows.

Also, I decided to go crazy and add 2 other fanfiction projects to my time. Both of them are _Charmed_ fics, and I hope if you have the time or inclination you'll check them out. One is an AU beginning at the end of season four, and the other is a series of missing moment from Piper and Leo's relationship (this will probably expand into 2 other series, one for Andy and Prue and one for Phoebe and Cole, so keep on the lookout if you prefer those pairings). This means that I'm splitting my focus between three projects, so that might also make the time between updates longer. I hope not, though.

Thank you all for the wonderful reviews. I'm so grateful for your feedback.

I hope you enjoy.

_Katie_

**12/30/05: **I'm sorry it's taken so long to get to this chapter, especially since I left the last one on such a cliffhanger. I knew I wouldn't get it up before I was done with finals, but then some unexpected stuff came up. On Christmas my mom and my brother both ended up in the hospital (my brother is fine; my mom had to stay there until yesterday, and they haven't figured out what's wrong with her yet, but all her tests have been okay so far.) This is probably entirely unnecessary and maybe inappropriate to post in this a/n, but I just wanted to explain why this chapter may be wonky. I've had little to no sleep this week, but writing has been the only thing remotely cathartic.

Anyway, thank you all for the wonderful reviews. They've really been helping brighten up this really crappy time. I appreciate it more than you know.

Enjoy the chapter.

_Katie_

**12/3/05:** Here is one of the chapters I've been dreaming up for a VERY long time now. I hope it lives up to my own expectations. Enjoy!

_Katie_

**10/21/05:** Oh my gosh! I am so, so, so unbelievably sorry that it has taken me this long to update. My only defense is that junior year of college is no less insane or crazy than junior year of high school. Between my classes, writing for my fiction class, trying to add a secondary education minor to my schedule (which I did...I'm going to be an English teacher!), band, my other activities, and my family, it has been a truly insane autumn. But I sincerely wish this was not the area I had slacked off in, and I'm so very sorry to make you all wait. I hope you'll still read.

Oh another note, I'm very glad to hear that my idea that Victor got the ring from Patience went over well. I had a very, very specific reason for doing this, which will be revealed shortly. Hooray!

Please enjoy this chapter. Thank you all for being so patient.

_Katie_

**8/3/05: **Ta da! I've finally returned from a looong hiatus! I'm so excited too!

Basically July was a terrible month for writing. I ended up going to Michigan to see where my brother's going to school next year, I worked a lot, I got my wisdom teeth out, but now, finally, I am back in the game.

I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's a ton of dialogue, but it was fun to write and it's really the start of something big.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews! You guys rock!

_Katie_

**5/8/05**: I've become terribly bad about updating this story more than once a month. I'm very sorry about that. I know I am very excited to announce, though, that I am officially done with my sophomore year of college! This means that I have four glorious months until I'm back at school for band camp! Hopefully this summer I will make a lot of progress with this story.

I'd just like to say thank you to all my wonderful, amazing readers and reviewers. You guys made it easier to get through all the end of the year junk, really. : )

I'd also like to thank all my profs, whom I won't have to see again until August. Hehe.

This chapter is longer than others, so I hope it makes up for the wait.

_Katie_

**4/11/05:** Wow. I am so very sorry about the month long wait for this chapter. There's no excuse for it, really, but here's a few anyway:

1) The past month has included pre-and-post-midterm craziness

2) Spring break left me sharing a computer with my entire family

3) _The Incredibles_ came out on DVD, and since I am utterly, hopelessly addicted, I had no choice but to watch it 11 times

4) I've actually been getting sleep

So basically, bah to me. Fortunately, last night's 150th episode completely pumped me up on _Charmed_, this week I don't have a ton of things to do, and my roommate refused to let me watch _The Incredibles_ again tonight (I'll have to do it while she's in class tomorrow, muahaha!). Therefore, I got around to writing a chapter tonight. Yes, it's short and fairly pointless, but it's a chapter nonetheless. And the next one should be out soon (crosses fingers).

And now to something of actual importance in the author's note. Right after I wrote the last chapter I sat up and wrote out very short chapter outlines of what I want to happen in the story. Once I started, I couldn't stop, and basically I came to the conclusion that this story is going to be insanely long. The first part, for example, spans from August 1969 to February 1979, and according to my calculations, it will be around 180 chapters.

Yeah.

So, I think in order to save this from being around 500 chapters long, I'm going to split it up into four parts, in four separate stories, instead of making it all one. So this is now, officially, "Legacy: Life Before They Were Charmed Part One." I may shorten the title to just, "Legacy: Part One," just so you all have a heads up.

Anyway, thank you all for your kind support and for keeping up with the story. Once again, I'm sorry it took so long to update.

_Katie_

**3/11/05: **Sorry this chapter took so long to put up, guys. My computer going completely wonky, combined with the hundred little things I've had to do the past few weeks hindered the writing process. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I think I'll probably have another up soon (I hope!), and that will be wonderful. I'm almost done with the beginning/set-up of this story, which thrills me, because it means some things I have been planning since I first came up with this idea are starting to come up. Yay!

Thank you all so much for all the encouragement and praise. I really, really appreciate it. You guys are _awesome_!

_Katie_

**2/25/05: **I'm sorry to say this chapter is very short, and doesn't progress anything much plot wise. But I thought it would be best to upload something. I'm having a tiny bit of writer's block with the present section right now (in addition to being very busy). I probably shouldn't be spending so much time thinking about what is going to happen _later_ in the story then, but oh well. My mind keeps jumping ahead. Hopefully I'll get another chapter up soon.

_Katie_

**2/13/05:** Well, I think updates are going to return to their irregular spurts. I'm overloading this semester (22 credits - what was I thinking!) and until my spring break my life is going to be insane. But I'm trying to write when I can. I was planning to go farther in chapter twelve, but I thought a little now would make the wait less painful.

Thank you everyone for the awesome reviews! I love you guys!

_Katie_

**1/29/05:** Wow, this is a lot of updates in one week. I'm thrilled! Thank you so much to everyone who's reviewed! You guys rock my socks, seriously!

Chapter 11 is one I've been looking forward to writing fora looooong time now. I hope you all enjoy it. I certainly enjoyed writing it.

_Katie_

**1/25/05:** Holy cow! Two chapters in two days! I'm so proud. : ) Enjoy, you lovely readers.

_Katie_

**1/24/05: **I'd just like to say thank you to everyone for the wonderful, encouraging reviews. They really make this story even more fun to write.

Also, someone pointed out that Patty said in "That 70s Episode" that she just started working at Buddy's, and that she didn't want Victor to know. I didn't realize this until after I started the story, but I have plans to work through my own continuity error. I do apologize for it though; it was simply a slip up.

Thanks everyone!

Katie

**11/18/04:** In response to a review I'm going to post the family relationships, in case it's confusing.

**Three cousins**: Penelope Russell (aka past Phoebe; vanquished by past Prue and past Piper); Phoebe Bowen (aka past Prue; referred to by Patty and Penny as Aunt Phoebe); Patience Johnson (aka past Piper; Penny's mom and Patty's grandmother; she was married to Gordon Johnson, Jr.).

**Patience's children**:Penelope Johnson Halliwell (Patty's mom); Gordon Johnson III (Patty's uncle and Penny's brother. I included this character because he is listed on the family tree shown on the show).

**Other characters in the family:** Gordon Johnson IV (aka Gordie; Gordon's son and Patty's cousin); also mentioned, Elizabeth Johnson (Gordon Johnson III's dead wife; Gordie's mom; a mortal).

I hope that clears things for anyone who was confused.

Katie

**11/17/04**: Sorry it's been awhile since I've updated. Chapter four was really difficult for me to write for some reason, and I'm still not sure I'm entirely happy with it. But I wanted to put something up, and I think this is about as good as it's going to get right now. I really hope you enjoy it, and thanks for all the wonderful feedback.

Katie

**10/14/04:** Wow. I can't believe it's been a month. I've been working on chapter two on and off, but things have been so hectic lately with school and such, it's been a bit difficult. I finally decided that since it's been so long, I'd just upload what I have and put the rest of what I want to be in chapter two in chapter three. Woo hoo.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate it.

Katie

**9/14/04:** And thus begins a project I have been thinking about for a very long time now. I have always been intrigued with the Charmed Ones' lives before they were Charmed. What happened when they were younger that made them turn out the way they did? How did they relate to each other at a younger age? What was the turning point in Prue and Phoebe's relationship that made it so off kilter? Why exactly did Victor leave his daughters? These questions and many others have always fascinated me, and in this work I set out to try to recreate my own understanding of their youth.

This story begins before the Charmed Ones are even born, mostly because I also find Victor and Patty's relationship extremely interesting. And I think it helps set up a background for other characters in the story, such as Penny, and those three infamous cousins Prue, Piper, and Phoebe were in their past lives.

I tried to stay as true to _Charmed_ canon as I possibly could. Sometimes it's hard, considering the continuity errors the writers of the show themselves make. Please forgive any mistakes. Anything explicitly changed will be explained in these author's notes.

I guess that's about it. Updates won't be regular (because they rarely are when I write), but I'll try to make them as often as possible. I'd appreciate any feedback you readers would be willing to give. It's very encouraging and helpful.

Hope you enjoy.

Katie

By the way, I want to note this now. I have read several fanfics where those three cousins are named Prue, Piper, and Phoebe. I never really understood this. Yes, they were Prue, Piper, and Phoebe in past lives, but that does not mean they were entirely the same people. In this story, I have chosen to name them Phoebe (Past Prue), Patience (Past Piper), and Penelope (Past Phoebe). Phoebe was the only name I chose to include, but I did not associate the name with Past Phoebe on purpose. In "That 70s Episode" Patty tells Phoebe she must have named her after her favorite aunt. Since it has never been implied in any way that Penny had a sister, I opened my own interpretation and made the term aunt more of an affectionate title for an older relative. In this case, it is Patty's grandmother's cousin, Past Prue. I explain this somewhat in the story too, but if there are any other questions I would be more than happy to answer them.


	2. Meetings

_**Legacy: Life Before They Were Charmed**_

By: Ryeloza

_**Chapter One**:** Meetings**_

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_There's something a bit addictive about coffee. I never drank it before I started working here. But day after day, serving one cup of it after another, taking in that intoxicating scent, it kind of grows on you. For awhile, just the scent was enough to tide me over, but that only lasted about a year. One night, when things were winding down and the customers were dwindling, I sat down at the counter to take my break, and downed my first cup. And that was the night I met him. That was the night I met Victor._

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Patricia Halliwell never really saw herself working at Buddy's. It was a place she and her friends hung out at regularly when she was in high school, but it never crossed her mind that she would someday be a waitress there. Granted, before the end of her life, there were many, many things she did in her life that in her youth would have seemed inconceivable. Working at Buddy's, though, was probably one of the most surprising.

Patty was born and raised in San Francisco by parents who seemed to go through more phases than she did. When she was very young, Penny and Allen had been a somewhat normal couple, with fairly normal expectations and goals in life. Patty was very grateful for this; she directly attributed it to the fact that she ended up relatively normal. Right around the beginning of her sophomore year, however, her father became quite involved in the Hippie movement that was sweeping the country, and eventually led her mother down the same path. Right before her sixteenth birthday, her dad quit his job, putting somewhat of a financial strain on the family. Fortunately for them, Patty's grandmother and grandmother's cousin, who was known most affectionately as Aunt Phoebe to both Patty and Penny, were very liberal with their money, and helped out Allen and Penny as much as they could. Granted, Patty had her suspicions that a good deal of their reasoning in this matter was to make sure nothing happened to the manor. It had been built when her grandmother was a little girl, and she had lived there almost her entire life. In fact, until Patty was about eight, her grandmother and Aunt Phoebe had lived with them. Then her aunt Elizabeth had died, and her grandmother and surrogate aunt had gone to live with her uncle Gordon and look after her cousin, Gordie IV.

During high school Patty spent a good deal of her time at her aunt Sarah's house. Sarah was Allen's older sister, and much more level-headed and practical than her brother. It was much preferable to be there sometimes, rather than her own home, where her parents' friends spent a good deal of their free time.

Then the summer before her senior year of high school, everything changed.

She had been spending the weekend at Aunt Sarah's when she got a call from her mother informing her that her father had died. It was the worst week of her life. Her mom had told her that it was a demon who killed her father, and that she had vanquished the demon. It was the first demon her mother had vanquished in nine months, and it changed her drastically. Gone was the peace-loving, trippy woman of the past few years; she was replaced with one of the most determined, strong women Patty had ever encountered. Even her mourning was subdued, and taken with utmost seriousness. It was a side of her mother Patty had rarely seen before.

She spent most of the summer fairly secluded, despite her mother's urging to get out more. But she was grieving in her own manner, and it wasn't until school started that she began return to her normal self.

Her grandmother and Aunt Phoebe visited much more frequently after her father's death. Patty got the distinct impression that although they felt terrible at Allen's passing, they were also somewhat relieved at Penny's complete reversal in attitude. It was relatively common knowledge in the family that Patience Johnson and Phoebe Bowen, Patty's grandmother and distant cousin respectively, had vanquished their cousin, Penelope Russell, in 1924. It was this cousin whom Patty's mother was named for, despite the fact the cousin had turned to evil. Inevitably, Patience had felt a good deal of sorrow after the vanquish, though she always said it was the only choice she and Phoebe had had in the end. To honor the good person her cousin was before she was seduced by evil, she had chosen to name her only daughter Penelope. Knowing this, Patty wasn't surprised that her grandmother was very glad to see Penny back on the "right track" after her stint as a Hippie.

Patty graduated in the class of '68 with fairly high grades, but no aspirations to go to college. At least not right away. For years her aunt Sarah, and in her senior year, her mother, had been encouraging her to work hard and go to college. It was never a particular goal of Patty's, however. So it was around August that she began to work at Buddy's.

She found the job enjoyable for the most part. There was one other waitress she didn't get along with, but that girl quit at the end of the summer to go away to school. The customers ranged from extremely generous and amiable to penny pinching cranks. It paid well enough for Patty, so she stuck with it, all the while living with her mother.

Her graduation from high school, along with Penny's reinvestment in the ongoing war of good versus evil, marked a significant increase in the amount of vanquishing Patty did. When she was younger, and particularly when she was a preteen, Patty had spent a good deal of time studying witchcraft, and even assisted her mother in a few vanquishes. Mostly she'd freeze whichever particular demon they were facing, and her mother would do the actual vanquishing, but it had been good practice. And when she became an official adult, she became much more proactive. In November, she took on her first demon without any assistance, and found it exhilarating.

So the year progressed with some variance, and Patty felt her life truly coming together.

Then in August 1969 she met Victor Bennett.

She had offered to take the night shift for her friend Cathy. It was a shift she rarely worked, but it was Cathy's brother's birthday, so Patty decided to do her a favor. It was a Friday, and Buddie's was very busy, jammed especially with high school kids. Patty worked nearly nonstop the whole shift, and it wasn't until about ten thirty that things began to wind down and she could take a break. She sat down at the counter, her first cup of coffee in front of her, and sipped it while conversing with Maggie, who was working behind the counter. She didn't even bother to look over at the door when it opened, and didn't notice Buddie's newest customer until she got back up to finish her shift.

The man who had entered was alone, and looked to be around Patty's age. She hardly noticed him however, pulling out her pad and a pencil as soon as she approached the table and stifling a yawn. It had been a long night.

"Hi," she said, forcing a smile on her face. "Ready to order?"

"Hmm," said the man. "Let's see." He opened the menu dramatically and Patty suppressed a yawn. She glanced down at her watch. Only about an hour left and she could go home.

"Why don't I just come back?" she said after waiting for what seemed a rather long minute.

"No, no, no," he squinted at her name tag, "Patty. I'm ready. I'll have a Coke, a hamburger with fries, and...your phone number."

Patty scribbled his order down, nonplused by his pick up line, or the fact that he was staring up at her expectantly. She flashed him an unamused smirk, and stalked off toward the kitchen.

"He's a cutie," said Harriet as Patty put in the man's order. "Was he putting the moves on you?"

Patty shrugged. Harriet was always asking if young males in the restaurant were "putting the moves" on Patty. Harriet was about sixty, and enjoyed living vicariously through others. Especially when it came to rendevous with men. Often Patty caught her reading trashy romance novels when she was on her breaks.

"I think he was," said Harriet. "You should give him your number."

"My life is way too complicated for someone like that," said Patty.

Harriet scoffed. "You're nineteen Patty. Your life can't be complicated."

Patty rolled her eyes and grabbed mystery man's Coke. "I'll be hard pressed to find a man who can understand my life." And she walked out of the kitchen, leaving Harriet to gripe to herself about the day's youth. In truth, they were more Penny's words than Patty's. It was one of her mother's favorite gripes; how Patty had to find the perfect man to understand the witchcraft in their family. Allen, Penny often said, had been an exceptionally understanding man. This raised the bar for Patty to find someone just as exceptional.

She set the Coke on the table and the man flashed her another warm smile. "I'm Victor, by the way," he said. "Victor Bennett."

Patty could feel a headache coming on. This was the last time she'd work the night shift on a Friday, if at all possible.

"And you're Patty...?" he said.

"Halliwell," she responded, trying to get through the conversation with as little effort as possible.

"Halliwell," he repeated. "Patricia?"

She nearly groaned, and then caught herself at the last second. Instead she leaned down so she was nearly eye level with him. "Let me ask you something Victor Bennett. Are you an exceptionally understanding man?"

Victor seemed taken aback for a moment, and then grinned cheekily. "No."

Patty nodded. "Exactly," she said. "Now if you'll excuse me."

"Hey! Wait a minute," Victor protested, but Patty ignored him, and went to another table to refill a cup of coffee. When she turned back towards Victor's table, he was gone, leaving behind only a few crumbled bills. Patty sighed in relief, and went back to cancel his order.

She wouldn't see him again for another week.

After her shift was over that night she went home and immediately crashed in her bed, not waking up until nearly eleven the next morning. Still tired, and clad in pajamas, she slunk downstairs to the kitchen, where she found her mother, grandmother, and Aunt Phoebe.

"Morning," she said, slipping into one of the vacated chairs and burying her head in her arms on the tabletop.

"Do you have a hangover this morning, Patricia?" Phoebe inquired. She was never one to pussyfoot around the point.

Patty raised her head and looked at Phoebe. "No," she said bluntly. "Not from alcohol, anyway."

"Patty was working last night," Penny supplied. Patience reached over and smoothed Patty's hair down, looking at her lovingly. Then she turned away, staring off at nothing. She did that a lot, and Patty sometimes wondered just what her grandmother was always daydreaming about. Whenever she tried to discuss this with her mother, however, Penny would only tell her that her grandmother had had a hard life, and not to question her about it.

"Out of high school a year already, Patricia," said Phoebe. "I can hardly believe it. And Gordie's starting eighth grade this year. You're both growing up too quickly. Aren't they, Patience?"

Patience snapped back to attention and looked at her cousin. "Gordie looks like his father," she said. "And Gordon looks like his father. All the Gordons look alike."

Phoebe nodded and patted her cousin on the hand. Patty gave her grandmother a curious look. She could truly ramble on about nothing sometimes.

"I always thought the same," said Phoebe. She glanced at Penny and then stood up. "Come on, Patience," she said. "Let's get going."

Phoebe walked around the table and kissed Penny, and then Patty, Patience following her in a bit of a daze. She paused only to give Patty a tight hug. Then they were gone.

As soon as Patty heard the door shut she started in on her mother. "Grandma wasn't always like that, was she?" she asked.

Penny stood up and walked over to the sink. "Like what?" she said, turning on the water to wash the cups they had been drinking out of.

"Like she is," said Patty. "She says the most random things sometimes. And other times she's completely lucid and comprehendible."

"Grandma dwells on things," said Penny. "She's had a hard life, and because she doesn't let go of the past easily, she drifts off sometimes. It's been worse since Grandpa died."

Patty had heard that explanation at least a dozen times. "Is it because she and Aunt Phoebe had to vanquish their cousin?"

"Partly," said her mother. "Are you working today?"

Patty almost sighed. Her mother always changed the subject when they were talking about her grandmother. Even when Allen was alive, and she had been much more free spirited about everything, Penny had refused to tell Patty much about her grandmother.

"No," said Patty. "I'm working tomorrow afternoon." She pulled her legs up so she was sitting Indian style on the chair. "No one else in our family dwells on things," she observed, trying to bring the subject back to where she wanted it.

"Your uncle Gordon does," said Penny. "It's one of the only things he inherited from Mom. And you're dwelling on something right now."

Patty frowned, and threw out her hands, trying to freeze her mother, and knowing very well that it wouldn't work. Stupid power. "Well I hope none of my children inherit it," she said stubbornly, not sure if she was talking about her grandmother's personality, her own power, or both.

"Oh Patty, why are you even worrying about it? You're only nineteen. You won't have children for years yet."

That wasn't the point. But instead of saying what she was thinking, Patty simply responded, "Yeah, I know. You're right." She rolled her neck around and stood, walking over to her mother. "I'm going to go get dressed," she announced. "Susan and I are going out shopping this afternoon."

"Alright,"said her mother. She stopped doing the dishes and turned to kiss Patty on the forehead. "Be careful, sweetheart."

"I always am, Mom," said Patty with a sigh.

Penny raised a skeptical eyebrow and went back to the dishes.

Susan had been Patty's best friend since her junior year of high school. She was a short, energetic girl and severely ambitious. Unlike Patty, she had chosen to go to college, and was actually attending a university on the east coast, making her and Patty's time together much more infrequent. But no matter how often they saw each other, one thing never changed; Susan loved to prod Patty into doing things. Her topic for the afternoon was getting Patty to apply for the spring semester at the university. Patty spent the time deflecting Susan's attempts with excuses like, "My mother needs me at home" or "I don't have the money." They parted ways that day, neither completely understanding the others' reasoning, but Susan promising she'd come visit Patty at Buddy's sometime in the next week before she left for school.

It would be a turning point in Patty's life.

It just so happened the day Susan chose to visit was that Thursday afternoon, around three o'clock. It was two hours before Patty got off for the evening, and early enough that the dinner rush hadn't begun yet. So Patty decided to go on break and she and Susan went outside and sat down on a bench.

Susan immediately lit a cigarette, inhaled deeply, and then blew out the smoke in a huff. "Really, Patty," said Susan, wasting not a moment. "You're too smart to be dwindling away your life at Buddie's."

Patty shrugged. "My family is really important to me. I can't just pick up and leave."

Susan rolled her big green eyes and puffed away on the cigarette again. "Well then go to school somewhere around here," she said. "Just do something with your life. It's almost the '70s. Do you know how many more opportunities we'll have?"

Susan was a big supporter of the women's rights movement. She was always talking about the opportunities the future was going to provide them as women.

"I just don't want to go to school, Susan. Get over it already."

Susan shook her head, dropped her cigarette, stamped it out, and lit another. "I think you're crazy, Pat."

"So Pat's the name you prefer." Patty and Susan both looked to their left and Patty groaned outwardly. There stood Victor Bennett again, hands in the pockets of his jeans, grinning.

"It's Patty," she said. "Not that it matters to you."

Victor shrugged and walked around, sitting down on the bench next to Patty. "Who's your friend?" he asked.

Patty and Susan exchanged a glance, and then Susan took in a large lung-full of smoke and blew it out in Victor's direction. He just continued smiling and stuck out a hand.

"I'm Susan," she said cooly, not extending her hand. "Who's the guy, Patty?"

"No one-" Patty began, just as Victor said, "Victor Bennett."

Victor crossed his arms and slunk down on the bench, as though making himself comfortable for a long stay. "I think I offended Patty here, the other night," he said.

"Oh?" said Susan. "That's not surprising. You seem annoying."

"Susan!" said Patty, her eyes growing wide. Then immediately she regretted her reprimand. She certainly didn't want to encourage the man.

"What'd you do?" asked Susan, ignoring Patty.

Victor shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said. "She asked me if I was exceptionally understanding, and I said no. Then she walked away."

Susan slung an arm around Patty's shoulders. "Good for you, Patty," she said. "I'm proud of you."

Victor shook his head. "All I wanted was her telephone number. What's wrong with that?"

"There's no point, Victor," said Patty, bursting in on his conversation with Susan. "Nothing is going to happen between us."

"You don't know that," said Victor.

"Yes," said Patty. "I do."

Susan leaned back against the bench. "I'd listen to her, Vic. Patty's pretty strong willed."

"So am I."

Patty rolled her eyes. "You don't even know anything about me."

"Sure I do," protested Victor. "I know you're stubborn, straightforward, and pretty. And that you're looking for an exceptionally understanding man." He leaned in towards Patty. "But I'll let you in on a secret. I don't think you'll ever find what you're looking for."

Patty crossed her arms, irritated. "My mother found it," she said. Beside her she felt Susan stiffen. It was in Susan's nature to be overprotective, and she was especially so with Patty since her father had died.

But Victor didn't seem to have a witty response to that. Instead he sat up straighter, his smile fading. "Just one date, Patty. Please."

Susan flicked her cigarette to the ground.

Patty sighed. "Do you promise to stop bothering me?"

Victor held up a hand. "Scout's honor," he said.

"Fine, then," said Patty. She rose to her feet, and Susan followed suit.

"Tomorrow night?" asked Victor.

Patty nodded. "Meet me here, at five thirty." And without another word she turned away from Victor and embraced Susan in a firm hug.

"See you around kiddo," said Susan softly. Patty gave her a small smile, and headed back inside.

And as the door closed, the last words she heard were those of Susan, warning Victor to be good.


	3. Anticipation

**_Chapter Two:_** **_Anticipation_**

_

* * *

_

_But I never believed in love at first sight. Never. Until it actually happened to me._

* * *

"Victor? Victor? Hello? Are you there, Victor?"

Victor held the phone away from his ear in distaste and covered the mouthpiece with his palm. "Why didn't you tell her I was helping a customer?" he asked Mae, irritably.

"I'm not your personal secretary, Victor," said Mae. "And you better hurry it up, because you know you're not allowed in your uncle's office for too long."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Victor as Mae left the room, purposely leaving the door open so she could keep an eye on him. Victor glanced at the phone and reluctantly held it up to his ear.

"Hello?" he said.

"Victor?" his mother cackled through the phone. "It's about time. I thought your secretary forgot to give you the phone again."

"Mae's not my secretary, Mom," Victor said as he picked up a pencil from the desk. Idly, he began to twirl it around his fingers. "She's Uncle Michael's secretary."

"When are you coming home?" she asked, completely ignoring his previous statement. This didn't surprise Victor. His mom never could acknowledge anything she didn't want to.

"I don't know," he said. "I have a date tonight, so-"

"A date? With who?"

Victor rolled his eyes. "No one. Just this girl I met the other night."

"You shouldn't be dating strange girls, Victor."

Victor resisted the urge to slam down the phone. Instead he said in a rushed voice, "Oh, I've got to go, Mom. It's really busy here today. I'll see you later tonight, okay? Bye." And before his mother could respond, Victor set the phone down.

Mae stood in the doorway, smirking.

"What?" said Victor, standing and dropping the pencil down on the desk.

"Nothing," said Mae. She smoothed an imaginary wrinkle in her skirt and then clasped her hands together. "So do you really have a date tonight?"

Victor scowled. "You know, Mae, you should really try to publish a book on eavesdropping. You are an expert." He walked through the door, pushing past Mae in the process.

"Oh, come on, Victor. Don't act so sensitive." She walked back to her desk and flopped down on her chair. "You know I just find your conversations with your mother amusing."

"Ha," said Victor, sitting down at the desk opposite of Mae's. "I wish I was so easily amused. I can't wait until I get the hell out of that house."

"How much longer?" she asked, suddenly serious.

Victor grinned. "Six weeks. Only six more weeks. Then I can do whatever I want without her ever having to know."

"Careful Victor," said Mae. "You don't want to get your date in trouble."

"Like that would ever happen," he said. The phone started to ring. Mae picked it up, trapping it between her shoulder and ear.

"Hello, Logan's Used Cars, how can I help you?"

Victor got up and scrambled out of the building as quickly as he could. If it was his mother again he needed to find a customer, fast.

Victor had been working for his uncle Michael for nearly three years. His father, Ivan, had spent the better part of six months hassling Victor about getting a job, before finally getting fed up, calling his brother-in-law, and finagling Michael into employing Victor at his used car lot. Victor started the job halfway through his senior year of high school, and fell in love with it. He started as an assistant to one of Michael's sale's associates, under Mae's supervision, and when he turned nineteen he was promoted to a sale's associate. It was good work, and it paid well enough for Victor. Well enough that after years of saving, he finally had enough saved up to rent an apartment.

Since he was fifteen Victor had wanted to move out of his parents' house. While he knew he loved his parents somewhere deep down, they were slightly overprotective and rigidly set in their way of thinking. Already his older sister, Nancy, and his older brother, Robert, had flown the coop, and finally, it was Victor's turn.

Outside, Victor leaned against the wall and glanced at his watch; a quarter to five. In just fifteen minutes he would be free and clear to jump in his car and head off to Buddy's.

Buddy's.

It was not a place he had frequented before last week. By a pure stroke of luck he had found himself outside Buddy's' door due to the plain and simple fact that he had been stood up by his friend Barry. Victor was supposed to go to Barry's place so they could sit around drinking for awhile before going out and picking up girls, but Barry hadn't been there. Victor had sat outside his door for a good hour before getting fed up and heading out on foot. And it was twenty minutes later that he had been passing by Buddy's and glanced in to see a very pretty young waitress sitting at the counter, slowly nursing a cup of coffee.

And for the first time in his life, Victor was absolutely floored. Of course, he had been attracted to girls before, obviously. It wasn't as though he were a priest. But seeing Patty for that first time - God. It was like being punched in the stomach and enveloped in a thick fog all at the same time. It was just what she did to him. What he would learn would be her affect on him forever.

So he had gone in. He had been his charming self. Surprisingly, it hadn't seemed to work. This, Victor attributed to stubbornness. So he had adapted, disappeared for a week, but made it a habit to take a long route past Buddy's every day. And then, one day, he saw her sitting on a bench with an attractive, petite blonde woman and decided to make his move.

Sure, Patty still didn't seem exactly receptive to him, but he now had an entire date to convince her he wasn't just what he appeared to be. The only problem was, he wasn't quite sure how to accomplish this.

Victor looked down at his watch again. Six more minutes. He groaned, looked around him, and decided Uncle Michael wouldn't care if he ducked out a couple minutes early.

And that was how Victor found himself in his car, every nerve in his body tingling in anticipation of seeing her again, making his way to Buddy's.


	4. First

**_Chapter Three:_** **_First_**

_

* * *

_

_And it was our first date. It just didn't feel like it...because I didn't want it to be._

* * *

"Pat-ty," sang Hannah as she stuck her head through the door to the kitchen.

"What?" asked Patty. She took off her apron and handed it to Mary Ann, who was just starting her shift.

Hannah grinned. "You have a gentleman caller," she said cheerfully. "He seems very anxious to see you too."

Patty groaned and pulled her hair out of its pony tail. "He's here already?" she said irritably.

Mary Ann slipped the apron over her head and pushed past Patty to stand next to Hannah. Eagerly, she stuck her head out the door. "Which one?" she asked Hannah.

"The good looking one sitting in the booth near the door."

"Ooh," said Mary Ann. She turned back to Patty. "He's a catch."

Patty shrugged, picked up her purse, and tried to walk past her colleagues. Both, however, grabbed her by the arms and kept her from leaving.

"Is that what you're wearing?" asked Hannah.

"Please tell me you brought a dress to change into."

"Look, girls," said Patty. "It's not really a date. It's just this casual thing I got coerced into."

Mary Ann and Hannah exchanged a look. "She's not going to change," said Hannah. Mary Ann nodded sadly in agreement. Patty, however, simply sighed, shrugged off their grip, and pushed her way out of the kitchen.

"Hi," she said to Victor, approaching the booth he was sitting at. As soon as he realized she was there, he stood, grinning like a fool.

"Hi," he said. "Are you ready to go?"

Patty nodded. "I'm ready."

They stood, awkwardly staring at each other for a moment longer, and then finally Patty stepped toward the door, opening it and stepping out onto the sidewalk.

"So," said Victor, joining her. "You want to go grab something to eat?"

"Um, sure," said Patty. "Where?"

"Oh, I know this great place. You'll love it."

Patty raised an eyebrow, but turned and began to walk away.

"Whoa, whoa!" said Victor, rushing back to her side. "Where are you going? What did I do?"

Patty frowned, taken aback. "You didn't do anything. I thought we were going to get something to eat."

"Well, yeah," he agreed. "But I have my car. We can drive." He gestured down the street in the opposite direction toward a green car. Patty's mouth fell into an "O" shape.

"Well then," she said. "I guess we'll drive."

Victor smiled at her and put a hand at the small of her back, leading her toward the car. "My parents gave it to me a year ago," he explained.

"Lucky."

He shrugged, reaching out to open the passenger's door for Patty. "My uncle Michael owns a used car lot. It was a good deal."

"Oh," she said, climbing into the car. Victor rushed around to the other side, opening the door, and slipping inside. "So, what are you parents like?" she asked as he turned the key in the ignition.

"Oh, you know," he said. "They're like anyone's parents. Very typical."

"Great description."

"Well what about you?" he asked. "Can you do any better?"

Patty laughed. "My mom's a former hippie-"

"Former?"

"She got over being a flower child after my dad died," said Patty. "He's the one who got her into all that."

Victor glanced at her sheepishly. "I'm sorry," he said. They sat silently for a moment.

"Anyway," Patty finally said, registering Victor's words without comment, "now she's a very serious woman. "Very protective. Confident. Stubborn."

"Sounds like you," Victor said wryly.

"Yeah, somewhat," agreed Patty. "Stubbornness is a characteristic passed down through my mother's side of the family. It's unavoidable. And undoubtedly, my children will have it too."

"Point taken. Any siblings?"

Patty began to twist the ring on her pointer finger idly. "Nope. My parents wanted more after me, especially my mom, but it wasn't meant to be. I do have one slightly annoying younger cousin, though."

"Kind of a shame," said Victor. He snuck another peak at her. "I mean, I don't know what I'd do without my siblings."

"How many?" asked Patty.

"Two. Both older. One sister and one brother."

"And I suppose they're very typical too."

Victor laughed loudly, a sound Patty found oddly comforting. "Well, Robert's pretty straight- laced, but Nancy's in a band with her husband," he explained. "She's been traveling all over the west coast for about three years now."

"Wow," said Patty, twisting in her seat to more directly face him. "Seriously?"

He nodded.

"That's so neat!" she said. "What's the band called?"

"Bold Sunshine," said Victor. "They're fairly decent. Maybe we can go see them sometime."

"That'd be great," said Patty, somewhere in the back of her mind realizing she was agreeing to go on another date with a man she wanted to detest. "I've only seen a couple bands perform before, and most of them were in these dark, smokey clubs Susan likes to drag me too."

"And you don't like dark, smokey clubs?" asked Victor, his tone teasing.

"They're alright. You know, when you're in the mood to be there."

"Yeah. I guess." He lifted a finger to scratch his nose. "How old are you anyway?"

"Turned nineteen in April. How about you?"

"Twenty, in June."

She smiled. "Old man."

He flashed a smile back at her and pulled the car to a stop against the curb. Patty unstrapped her seatbelt and stepped out of the car, looking around. "Where are we?" she asked.

"We're at the park with the most amazing hot dogs in the world," said Victor, coming around to her side of the car. "You do like hot dogs, don't you?"

"Of course," said Patty. She laughed softly. This was the last thing in the world she had been expecting.

Minutes later they both had hot dogs and sodas in their hands and were sitting on a bench looking out at a lake, Patty toying around with the idea that maybe Victor wasn't as bad as she thought. Not that she'd date him seriously. Ever. But he might be a nice guy to have around as a friend.

"Do you believe in magic?" she asked suddenly, immediately afterwards taking a large bite of her hot dog.

Victor gave her a strange look, and Patty wondered if she had made a large error in judgement. The last thing she needed was for Victor to find out her big family secret.

"Not really," he said. "But, I've never really thought about it. Why, do you?"

Patty bit back a laugh and nearly choked. "Yeah," she said, after downing quite a bit of her drink. "I do."

"I guess I just need the proof, you know? For someone to show me it really exists."

"Just because you can't see it, it doesn't mean it's not there," said Patty.

Victor shrugged. "People say that all the time. And it's just because they can't prove it."

Inside Patty cringed, and she opened her mouth to retort, only to reprimand herself that she needed to stop this conversation before it went much further.

"Maybe someday I will," she said. And somehow they both understood the discussion was over.


	5. Young

**_Chapter Four:_** **_Young_**

_

* * *

_

_It was one of the worst days of my life. And maybe that was the turning point. Just, maybe._

* * *

Patty yawned widely, arms crossed as she hurried down the street. She had just gotten off her shift and stopped home for a couple minutes to change before taking off again. It was Saturday afternoon and her aunt Phoebe had been shut indoors with a bad cold for nearly a week. Patty had been meaning to go visit every day since she had found out, but her schedule never seemed to work out. Even yesterday, when she had had off, she and her mother had ended up with a demonic problem that had to be handled. But now, finally, she seemed to have found time.

Her uncle's house was only a few blocks from her own, and it took her mere minutes to walk there. She soon found herself on the front steps, ringing the bell, and waiting only a moment before her grandmother opened the door.

"Hi, Grandma," said Patty, stepping inside and shutting the door behind her. She opened her arms and stepped over to her grandmother to give her a hug. "How are you today?"

"Oh, I'm well, Patty." She smiled up at her granddaughter. "What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

"I just stopped by to see how Aunt Phoebe's doing," said Patty. "Mom said she has a pretty bad cold."

Patience nodded and took Patty's arm, leading her toward the living room. "She's been sick since last week, poor thing. And Gordon doesn't even want me to spend time with her until she's well." She shook her head. "It's a bunch of phooey if you ask me."

Patty nodded sympathetically, opening her mouth to respond when her uncle entered the room and beat her to it.

"It's not phooey, Mother," he said. "The last thing we need is for you to get sick too."

Patience rolled her eyes and Patty resisted the urge to roll hers too. Maybe her uncle had a valid point, but sometimes he was so pretentious Patty had to fight not to lash out at him. Instead she opted to be cordial.

"Hi, Uncle Gordon," she said.

He glanced over at her, finally acknowledging her presence. "Patricia." He looked around the room as though he had missed something. "Where's your mom?"

Patty smiled broadly. "She's at home putting a spell in the Book of Shadows. We vanquished a demon last night."

Patience patted Patty's leg comfortingly. Then she leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You're a good girl, Patty."

Gordon sat down in a chair, opposite them. "Aren't you a little young to be demon hunting?" he asked.

"I'm nineteen, Uncle Gordon."

"Exactly my point. You're nineteen. You couldn't even vote in the election last year."

Patty rolled her eyes. "If the voting age was eighteen I could have."

"That's an entirely separate issue."

"Exactly," said Patty. "Just like voting has absolutely nothing to do with demon hunting."

"Okay you two, cut it out," said Patience. She stood up.

"Where are you going?" asked Gordon, crossing his arms. "Not upstairs."

"I'm going to make get some iced tea, Gordon. Cool down. Do you want some, Patty?"

"Yeah, Grandma. That'd be great."

"Gordon?"

Gordon shook his head and gave his mother a tight smile.

Patience left the room and Patty leaned back into the couch, arms crossed, head turned away from her uncle.

"I'm only looking out for you, you know," said Gordon. "Don't I have the right to worry about my only niece?"

Patty shrugged a shoulder, and turned back to face him. "I guess," she said. "But it's my choice, Uncle Gordon. I want to do this. I want to be a witch." Gordon opened his mouth to respond, but Patty cut him off. "And don't say I'm too young to know what I want," she said. "I'm not a little kid any more."

"You're not exactly an adult either, Patty," he said. "But I would think you, of all people, would understand the dangers of being a witch. What it does to the people you love."

"You've never lost someone you love because of demons or warlocks," snapped Patty. "You have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure I do," said Gordon. "I've seen what it did to my mom."

Patty simply stared back, fire in her eyes. It was rare when she fought with anyone, let alone someone older than her, but somehow Gordon seemed to know just what buttons to push to rile her up.

Finally he sighed loudly, standing up and walking over closer to her, lowering his voice. "Just be careful, Patty. I don't want the same thing to happen to you."

Then he turned and stalked out of the room, brushing past Patience as she reentered the room. "Glad to see you two didn't rip each others' head off," she said to Patty, handing her one of the ice teas and sitting down again.

Patty sighed. "I'm sorry, Grandma. He just makes me so mad sometimes."

"Gordon does have that special ability," said Patience with a sad smile. "He's a lot like your grandfather, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

But Patty didn't feel like she really knew. It was simply a fact everyone told her. A fact she had heard so many times she felt she had no choice but to believe it was true. Her grandfather had died before she was even born, so she had never known him, but if he was as much like Uncle Gordon as everyone told her, she didn't think she would have been too fond of him.

"I remember the day Gordon asked me to bind his powers," said Patience, interrupting Patty's pondering. "I couldn't believe any child of mine wouldn't want magic in his life, but there he was. And next thing you know he wanted Gordie's bound too." She shook her head. "I still can't believe your mother did that."

Patty could only vaguely recall that family controversy. She knew her grandma and aunt Phoebe had both disapproved of binding Gordie's powers before he was even out of the womb, but her mother had been particularly sympathetic to her brother's plight. From what Patty could remember, her aunt Elizabeth had been on the verge of a nervous breakdown under the stress of having a telekinetic baby inside of her. She had known the family secret before she and Gordon were even married, but it was one thing to be aware of something, and another to experience via your unborn child. So Penny had bound Gordie's powers and for nearly two weeks Patience and Phoebe had refused to speak to their family.

"Undoubtedly Gordie will want it for whatever children he has too," Patience continued.

"Why'd Uncle Gordon want his powers bound in the first place?" asked Patty.

Patience sighed and took a sip of her drink. "He didn't feel he could handle it, I suppose," she said. "It's probably my fault, really."

"How is it your fault?"

"Oh, you know," said Patience with a small shrug. She paused for a moment, averting her eyes. "I wasn't the best mother."

"Grandma..."

"No, Patty, it's true. I...I didn't handle some things as well as I should have. Gordon probably thought the root of those problems were magic."

Patty wiped her finger around the side of the glass, making patterns in the condensation, itching to ask about the vanquish of Penelope. Her mother would kill her if she found out she asked, and knowing her mother she would somehow find out. But Patty was sick of being denied answers.

"Are you talking about your cousin?" asked Patty. "You know...um...vanquishing her?"

Patience's eyes faded a bit and she put a hand on Patty's knee, giving it a soft squeeze. "She was like a sister to me, you know. Penelope. She, Phoebe, and I were like sisters."

"I'm sorry, Grandma," said Patty.

Patience began to cry, softly. "We had to do it," she said. "We had to."

"I know. Grandma..."

"He corrupted her. That bastard corrupted her and we had no choice in the end."

"Grandma," said Patty, putting a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her. "I know. Mom told me everything. It wasn't your fault." Patty shut her eyes and prayed that her grandmother would come back to her. This was exactly why she shouldn't have opened her big mouth. How many times had her mom told her?

"God, Patty. We strangled her. We choked her to death."

Instinctively, Patty pulled back. It was startling. And she had never known. But it had to be a lie. Her mother had always told her Penelope was vanquished. Not murdered by her cousins' bare hands.

"No, Grandma. You vanquished Penelope, with a spell. Remember?"

Patience lifted her head, looking at Patty with wide, teary eyes. Then in an eerily calm voice, she said, "I strangled her with a curtain cord, and while she was fighting for her last breaths, Phoebe and I said a vanquishing spell."

Patty swallowed hard and resisted the urge to get up and leave the room. She had never heard that part of the story. No one had ever told her before. She swallowed hard, forcing herself to remain calm.

"But it's not your fault," she said quietly, not even registering that she was now crying. "Penelope was evil. You had no choice."

"We had no choice," Patience agreed.

"I'm really sorry, Grandma. I never knew."

The corners of Patience's mouth turned up in an attempted smile, but she failed miserably. "There's a lot you don't know, Patty. A lot you'll probably never know."

"What? Grandma? What else...?"

"I think I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap," said Patience. She stood and Patty followed suit, setting her ice tea on the coffee table as she went. Patience walked her to the door and gave her a tight hug. "Tell Penny hello for me," she said.

"Yeah. I will Grandma."

Seconds later Patty was outside, the door shut in her face. She sighed loudly and turned on her heel, heading back toward her home, her head reeling with the news she had just discovered. How old had she been when she first heard about Patience and Phoebe vanquishing Penelope? Thirteen? Fourteen? And here it was, six years later and she was only now learning the truth. And apparently it wasn't even the whole truth. She felt hollow and sick inside. More than anything in the world, she wanted to go hide in a cave somewhere for awhile, but instead she kept walking until she reached her back door.

"Well?" said her mother, as soon as she entered the kitchen. "How's Phoebe?"

"She's okay, I guess," said Patty. "I didn't actually see her. Uncle Gordon's got her holed away in her room so Grandma doesn't get sick too." For a second she considered making a beeline for the door, but her mom managed to open her mouth first.

"Not surprising," said Penny. "How is Grandma?"

Patty groaned and sat down at the table next to Penny, committing herself to the inevitable. If she didn't tell, undoubtedly someone else in the family would. "She was fine until I came along."

"Oh no. Patty, what did you do?"

"I just said something I shouldn't have," said Patty with a sigh. She paused for a minute, staring at the Book, which was spread on the table in front of her mom. "Does it say anything in there about Penelope Russell?" she asked.

"You mentioned Penelope to Grandma?" Penny demanded. "Patty! What in the world were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry, Mom. I wasn't...I didn't think."

Penny's eyebrows raised and she pursed her lips. "God, Patty. I can't believe you said something. What did Grandma say?"

"She told me the truth, Mom. What really happened."

"Patty-"

"Why didn't you tell me, Mom? If I had known, I would have never said anything."

Penny shook her head. "You were too young to know, Patty."

"I wish everyone would stop telling me I'm too young," said Patty angrily. "I'm not a kid anymore."

"You are young," said Penny. "I found out when I was pregnant with you and I was still too young to know. It's very dark, and very disturbing and it's something you don't even want to begin to imagine. But you will now. It's inevitable." Penny stood up and shoved her chair in toward the table, furious. "You know, it's not as if it's bad enough, just thinking about what it must have been like to vanquish someone that close to you, but to realize you would have to go to the lengths of physically strangling that person to death?" She shook her head, disgusted. "I didn't tell you because I knew what it was like to imagine that. And to be pregnant at the time, it was horrible. Those three were like sisters and what happened nearly destroyed my mother. All I could think was about what would happen if one of my children became evil. That they would have to do the same thing my mom did."

"Good thing I'm an only child then."

Penny stood, mouth open, visibly shaking, and suddenly Patty felt like she was five again, experiencing her mother's wrath. It was the worst thing she could have said, and not only because of what her mother had just said. She knew how much her mother had wanted more children, and to bring it up now...

"Get out of my sight, right now, Patricia," said Penny in voice barely above a whisper. "Now."

Patty did as she was told. As quickly as she could she got up from the table and rushed up the stairs to her room, picking up the phone on her bedside table. She had to get out. She had to go away. She was halfway through dialing Susan's number when she remembered she had left for college.

Patty hugged the phone to her chest, breathing deeply. Then she placed the phone in its cradle and got up, pacing the room. After a few minutes she stopped, and walked calmly to her night stand, opening the little drawer and pulling out a scrap of paper with a phone number scribbled on it. She dialed the number and held the phone to her ear, trying to slow her breathing.

"Hello?" said someone on the other end.

Patty swallowed the lump in her throat. "Hi, may I speak to Victor, please?"


	6. Hope

**_Chapter Five:_** **_Hope_**

_

* * *

__It would end up being the stupidest bet of my life. Why didn't I just take her word for it?_

* * *

Victor couldn't have been more surprised to hear from Patty. He had been sitting with his dad, watching a western when he heard his mom call out to him from the other room. 

"Victor, telephone!"

So he had gotten up, meandered to the kitchen, and reached out his hand for the phone only for his mother to hiss, "It's a girl. When did you meet a girl?"

And that's when Victor's stomach flipped over. He knew it had to be Patty, and it was the call he had hoped for without thinking it could actually happen.

So he had insisted to his mother that it was just a girl he had gone out with last week, and that he had, indeed, told his mother about it. No, it wasn't anything serious. Finally his mother handed over the phone, but to Victor's unease, stayed seated right where she was.

The phone call wasn't anything like he had imagined it might be. Patty sounded shaky and out of breath, and pleaded with him to come pick her up and get her out of the house. But she wouldn't tell him what was the matter and Victor didn't want to press the issue in front of his mom. So he agreed to pick her up, and told her he'd be there in twenty minutes.

The truth was, their date the week before had been wonderful, but it hadn't wooed Patty the way he hoped it would. They had had a very nice conversation, and had parted amicably with Victor giving Patty his telephone number, but Patty had given him no indication that she ever wanted to go out with him again. Aside from wanting to see his sister's band, of course, but in Victor's mind that didn't really count. And so, being a man of his word, Victor had decided to wait to hear from her instead of pursuing her. But it had been over a week, and Victor had all but given up hope until the unexpected Saturday phone call.

It had to be a good sign.

He told his mom he was going out, picked up his car keys off the counter and flew out the door.

The second he pulled up to Patty's house she opened the door and got in the car, slamming the door shut and pulling on her seatbelt. Then she sat forward, rubbing at her eyes tiredly.

"What's wrong?" asked Victor. "What's going on?"

"Just drive, Victor. Please," said Patty quietly. "I don't want to talk about it. I just want to go somewhere."

"Okay," said Victor. "No problem."

He decided to take her to the beach, and so that was how they ended up sitting in the sand, shoes off, staring at the Pacific Ocean. Patty still hadn't said anything else.

"You really threw my mom for a loop when you called," said Victor, once again attempting to start a conversation.

"Sorry."

"Oh, no, I didn't mean it was a bad thing," he said. "I love when it happens. My mom's kind of judgmental and likes to pry into my life. It's good to throw her a curve ball every so often."

"And I'm a curve ball?"

Victor smiled. "You're a girl, and you're calling for me. That's the biggest curve ball of all. Sometimes I think my mom still thinks of me like a little kid. Her precious baby boy."

Patty let out a short, bitter laugh. "Must be a mom thing," she said. "Mine is the same way."

Victor nodded, sensing the conversation would take a downward turn again when Patty added, "That's why I'm in a bad mood. I got in a fight with her."

"Bad one?"

"Probably the worst," said Patty. "Or at least, it's probably the worst thing I've ever said to my mom." She shook her head and drew her knees up to her chest. "I can usually control my temper better," she said. "I don't like fights."

"You're a better person than I am then," said Victor. "It's rare when I can hold my temper."

"Hot head."

"You better believe it."

They fell into silence for another moment and Patty took the opportunity to lower her left hand to the ground, shifting the sand around. Victor glanced at it and then back toward the skyline. He shouldn't take her hand. Couldn't. No way.

"Thanks for picking me up on such short notice," said Patty. "I really appreciate it."

"Oh, yeah," said Victor. "Any time."

Why was he being so wary of this? Usually he just did what his instincts told him, he didn't sit there debating them. Why now?

"It's good to have another friend close by," she continued. "I mean, I'm friends with some of the other girls at the diner, but I couldn't exactly go to them with something like this. And with Susan on the other side of the country, well, you know."

"So we're friends now?" asked Victor.

Patty raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah," she said. "I guess we're friends."

They were friends. That's why he couldn't hold up her hand. He couldn't ruin something he just got.

She opened her purse and pulled out a pen and paper, scribbling something down. When she was done she handed it to him.

"So friends get to have your telephone number?" he asked with a smirk.

"Yeah," said Patty. She put the pen back in her purse. "Just..." She bit her lip. "Just don't call for a few days. I don't want you to throw my mom a curve ball before we make up."

"The fight was that bad?" He was teasing her, but she didn't seem to sense it.

"I told her it was a good thing that I was an only child."

Victor tore his eyes from the paper and glanced at her. "That's the worst thing you could have said to your mom?" he said incredulously. Patty gave him a look that seemed to say, "Of course! Isn't it obvious?" "I...I guess I just expected a lot worse," he said.

"That's pretty much the worst I could say," said Patty. "My mom wanted three girls, but after me the doctor told her she couldn't have any more children. So one girl instead. It was kind of devastating."

"Three girls, huh?" he said. He tucked the paper into the pocket of his jeans. "At least you were a girl. Imagine if you had been a boy."

Patty laughed. "Not too likely," she said. "There have only been five boys born into my mom's side of the family in the past two hundred years."

"Wow," said Victor, not sure if he was more surprised by the statistic or the fact that she knew that much about her family history. "The statistic doesn't really matter that much though," he said. "It's still a fifty-fifty chance every time."

Patty smirked and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll bet you fifty dollars that all my children are girls."

Victor reached up and rubbed his ear, slightly perplexed. "So you're like your mom then?" he asked. "You don't want any boys?"

Patty shook her head. "If I had all boys I'd love them as much as I'd love them if they were girls. But I still bet I have girls."

Victor nodded slowly and stuck out his hand. "You've got a bet," he said. "Fifty dollars."

And finally, Patty's hand was in his, shaking it. "Fifty dollars."

They left soon after that, and made it to Patty's house just as it was beginning to get dark.

"I hope things go all right with your mom," said Victor as Patty undid her seatbelt.

"They will," said Patty. "Eventually. It might just take her a few days to calm down."

Victor nodded.

"Well, goodnight," said Patty.

"'Night."

And from his car he watched her go up the stairs and let herself into the house, silently hoping for a million things at once. For Patty and her mom to make up. For the strength to wait a few days to call her. For Patty to call him before he called her. For Patty to want to kiss him as much as he wanted to kiss her. But just in case that would never happen, most of all he hoped he had the strength to be just friends with Patricia Halliwell.


	7. Mothers

_**Chapter Six:** **Mothers**_

_

* * *

_

_Sometimes we worry too much about our children, and thus we push them out the door._

_

* * *

_

"Where have you been all day?" asked Penny as soon as Patty walked through the door. She was sitting in the living room, feet up, flipping idly through a magazine.

Patty shrugged. "Out with a friend." She slipped into the room and sat down on the couch, next to her mom. "Look, Mom," she said. "I'm sorry about earlier. I shouldn't have said what I said."

Penny quirked an eyebrow at her daughter and proceeded to look back at her magazine. "Yes, well..." she said, trailing off. Penny had never been gracious at receiving apologies, and she was even worse at giving them. "It's okay, Patty." She glanced up at her daughter again. "So you want to tell me where you were?"

"Mother, please," said Patty, using a tone Penny despised. It was her attempt at acting nonchalant, but really all it implied was that Patty wanted Penny to butt out. Calling her "Mother" just made it all the worse. But Patty was generally too even tempered to start a fight, and after their argument earlier, Penny knew a little goading was all it would take for her daughter to spill the beans.

"I'm just curious," she said, feigning innocence. "We had an argument and then you disappear to God knows where without even a word. I'm your mother. I think I deserve to know."

"It's no big deal, Mom," said Patty, rising and leaving the room. Penny stood and followed at her heals.

"Patricia, I gave you life. All I ask in return is that you be honest with me."

Patty groaned audibly, reaching the kitchen and pulling a cup out of the cupboard. "Victor and I were at the beach. That's all. See? No big deal."

"Victor?" asked Penny coldly. "I don't remember ever hearing about Victor before."

Patty opened the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of ice tea, pouring it gingerly into the glass. "Well, I've never mentioned him before."

"Obviously."

"He's just a friend, Mom," she said, putting the ice tea back in the fridge and taking a long sip of her drink. "That's all."

"A friend you conveniently never spoke of before."

"Well, we just met two weeks ago. At Buddy's."

Penny opened her mouth to speak, but Patty cut her off.

"Two weeks is hardly a long time. And we've only hung out twice."

Penny snorted. "Patty, I'm not naive. You have a fight with your mother, run off with a boy for the whole day, a boy you didn't want to mention to your mother, by the way. I think it's clear you've done more than 'hung out.'"

"You can think whatever you want, Mother. I'm telling the truth."

"You're telling me you have no feelings for this Victor at all?"

Patty downed the rest of the ice tea. "Nope," she said. "We're just friends."

Penny shook her head. "Well when you two become more than that, let me know, okay?"

"Mom!"

But Penny simply put up a hand, turned, and left the room.

"Mom!" Patty called after her. "We're just friends, Mom! Nothing more. Ever. Do you hear me?"

"I hear you, Patty. I'll be upstairs."

Penny shook her head. She knew her daughter too well to believe what she said. Patty was falling for this mysterious Victor, and Penny knew it was only a matter of time. It had been the same way in high school with that Jimmy Michael. Boy had he been a nightmare. And Penny had been in a trippy haze of oblivion then. What would she think of this Victor when she was completely lucid?

She fell on to her bed, suddenly feeling very tired.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"Are you feeling any better?"

Patience entered her cousin's room quietly, shutting the door behind her and then moving to sit on the edge of the bed. She took Phoebe's hand in hers and smiled.

"Yes, a little." She squeezed Patience's hand. "How'd you get past that fuddy duddy son of yours?"

"He's picking Gordie up from Harry's house. We have fifteen or twenty minutes, I'd say."

"Good." Phoebe sat up against the headboard a little more. "So tell me all the gossip," she said. "I heard Patricia was here earlier."

Patience's eyes lost some of their spark. "She was asking questions about Penelope," she said quietly. And then, "I told her what we did. The truth."

"What? Patience? What did she say?"

"Nothing much. I..." She sighed. "I kind of left in a hurry. But it wasn't because I was running from what we did," she said defensively. "It's just..." She bit her lip. "I almost told her about Arnold."

Phoebe took this news in her typical fashion, must to Patience's chagrin. "You should have told her everything, Patience. I mean, for goodness' sake, you haven't even told Penny or Gordon yet."

"And I'm not going to!" said Patience, suddenly her old fiery self again. "Why would I tell any of them that? It was a mistake!"

"You loved him," said Phoebe. "How can that be a mistake?"

Patience shook her head. "I was married, Phoebe. It's unforgivable. Gordon would be livid and Penny... No. It's unthinkable."

"Then don't tell your children," said Phoebe. "Just tell Patricia. She won't judge you."

"I can't tell Patty. I can't ask her to keep something like that from her mother."

Phoebe rolled her eyes. "If you don't," she said, "maybe I will."

"Phoebe Amelia Bowen, don't you dare! This is my life, my children and grandchild. Not yours. Stay out of it."

"Patience-"

But Patience simply shook her head and stood up, heading for the door. "I'm glad you're feeling better," she said. "Goodnight." And then she was gone, leaving Phoebe alone once again.

**oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo**

"Where have you been, Victor?" Sylvia Bennett stood, hands on hips, trying to stare down her son. It usually worked, but tonight Victor seemed oblivious to her effort.

"Out with my friend Patty, Mom," he said. "And I stress the word 'friend.' Now if you don't mind, I'm tired. I'm going upstairs."

"But, Victor..."

"Goodnight, Mom."

Sylvia leaned against the doorframe and watched her son go up the stairs. "This isn't good," she hissed to her husband, Ivan. He was sitting on the couch, still watching television. "I don't like this at all."

"He's twenty, Sylvia. If he wants to go out with a girl he's allowed. It's about time he started thinking about getting out of this house."

"He's still a little boy!" Sylvia protested. Ivan still didn't turn around.

"Drop it," he said. "Don't worry about it."

Sylvia snorted. "So what? I'm just supposed to sit here like nothing is wrong until he shows up one day and announces he's engaged? Hmm? What if he elopes? Ever think of that?"

"Maybe he'll show up one day and announce the girl's pregnant. Ever think of that?"

Sylvia entered the room and punched Ivan on the arm. "Don't say something like that!" she said. "That's horrible!"

"Then stop stifling him," he said, ignoring the fact she had punched him. "And you can have a big wedding for him."

Sylvia crossed her arms across her chest. "I do not stifle Victor."

"You're worse with him than you were with Nancy and Robert, and look what happened with them. Nancy ran away with that boy four years ago. We didn't get to go to her wedding, and now we haven't seen her in over a year. We could have grandchildren by now and not know it." Sylvia's mouth dropped open. "And Robert hardly speaks to us," he continued, seemingly unstoppable. "If you keep going the way you are with Victor, it'll end up the same way."

"Don't be ridiculous," she said. "Victor's different. You'll see."

Ivan shook his head. "You're the one being ridiculous. Just wait. Things aren't going to turn out the way you want."

Sylvia seethed, to angry to speak another word, and left the room to go to bed.


	8. Pork

**_Chapter Seven:_** **_Pork_**

_

* * *

Pork. What is there to say about Pork? He was the first of many, and probably the one I most want to forget.

* * *

_

"Did anything ever happen between you and that guy?" Mary Ann asked a few weeks later. It was towards the end of September and the weather was oddly oppressively warm. Much to Patty's relief, Mary Ann had offered to drive her home from work, though they hadn't been driving for any significant time when Mary Ann started her questioning. "The only reason I'm asking," she added quickly, "is because I had a favor to ask you. But if you're dating that guy-"

"Victor," supplied Patty.

"Yeah, Victor." She paused. "Well. Are you?"

"No," said Patty. "We're just friends."

Mary Ann's eyes darted over to Patty for a moment, trying to judge the validity of that statement. And if Patty had been honest with herself, maybe she would have tried a moment of introspection and come to the same conclusion as Mary Ann.

"Are you sure?" asked Mary Ann. "Because you don't look so sure. Heck, you didn't even sound so sure."

But Patty was nothing if not stubborn. Admittedly, she liked Victor. He was very nice and had a calming effect on her like no one else did. Plus he was handsome, and he seemed to understand her really well. And she knew he liked her. She wouldn't let these be reasons to date him, however. Somehow she had convinced herself they wouldn't work together.

Maybe if she looked deeper, though, she'd realize what was holding her back was the fear that his understanding nature would fly out the window once he knew her family secret. That he wouldn't want her any more, and once he knew, he'd be out the door so quickly she wouldn't even have time to freeze him.

Truly, if Patty was honest with herself, she'd realize she was falling for Victor, hard, and that emotional distance would be the one immunity from heartbreak.

Patty wasn't analyzing herself, though. She refused to look deeper than the surface of her feelings for Victor. And since she was stubborn, this was the way she was determined it would remain.

"Of course I'm sure," she said. "We went on one date, and we both knew it wasn't going to work. So we're just friends."

"Okay then," said Mary Ann. "Well, if that's the case, I was wondering if you'd consider going to dinner with my brother."

"Your brother?"

"Yeah. And me and my boyfriend. Jon - that's my brother- came into town for a few days unexpectedly and I already had plans with Ben, but I don't want to leave Jon alone when he's come all this way. So, to make a long story short, I was wondering if you'd come out with all of us."

"A double date?"

"Yeah, exactly," said Mary Ann. "It'd be real casual. No big deal."

"Well I-"

"Jon's a real great guy you know. He's funny and easy to talk to. You'd probably have a great time."

Patty sighed. "Sure, Mary Ann. It'll probably be great."

"Great!" said Mary Ann, her eyes shining. "So, it's Saturday night. We'll pick you up at your house around seven, okay?"

"Okay."

Mary Ann grinned. "He's just great. You'll love him."

"I'm sure I will," said Patty, feigning enthusiasm. A blind date was not exactly high on her list of ways to meet people.

The rest of the drive home, Mary Ann continued to babble on about Jon, and then Ben, and finally work. It was one of the longest car rides of Patty's life, and so she nearly bolted when Mary Ann finally pulled up to the manor.

"I'm home, Mom!" she called as soon as she was through the door. "Are you here?"

"In the attic, Patty!"

Patty set her purse on the table and headed up the stairs, pulling out her pony tail as she went. She found her mom standing over the Book of Shadows, holding a notepad and a pen, and scribbling something down, and stopped dead in her tracks.

"We have a warlock to deal with," said Penny, looking up. "Patty?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," said Patty. "It's just...your hair..." And indeed, her mother's hair was completely different, now cut very short. It made her look youthful, somehow. It was odd.

Penny smiled and patted it somewhat vainly. "Do you like it?" she asked.

Patty nodded dumbly. "It looks good, Mom. Just really...different."

"Yes, well. I felt like a change. Long hair is such a pain, and Jean Pierre-"

"Jean Pierre?" said Patty. She laughed nervously. Who was this woman? "Since when do you have your hair styled by a French man named Jean Pierre?"

"Oh...well, Jean Pierre isn't a hair stylist," said Penny.

"Well who is he then?" asked Patty, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Mother?"

Penny tapped the pen against the notepad, frowning. "He's just a man I met."

"What?"

"At the grocery store," said Penny. "I was buying bacon and he wanted ham, and one thing led to another-"

"You're dating a Frenchman you met in the grocery store?" Patty asked incredulously.

"Uh, yes. Kind of. Yes."

"I need to sit down," said Patty, stumbling over to the sofa that had once belonged to some obscure relative. Maybe someone on her dad's side. Sylvia? Sophia? She couldn't remember. "How long have you been dating?" she asked.

"Not long. I only met him three weeks ago."

"Three weeks ago? Three _weeks_ ago?"

"Patty, please calm down. There's no use getting worked up about this."

Patty rolled her eyes. "Dad only died two years ago, and now you're cutting your hair and dating a man you met ordering pork products, and you want me to be calm?"

"Your father has nothing to do with my dating Jean Pierre," said Penny, still sounding oddly tranquil considering Patty's escalating frustration.

"But Dad-"

"Allen would have wanted me to be happy, Patty. And I'm tired of being alone." She set the notepad and pen down on top of the Book and crossed to room to sit next to her daughter. "It doesn't mean I love your dad any less. He was the love of my life. There won't ever be another."

Patty raised and eyebrow and hugged herself tightly.

"You'll understand someday, Patty. Very few men are worth keeping. The rest are expendable. Good for awhile, then you put them away."

"Mother!"

Penny shrugged a shoulder. "It's true. Trust me, I've been around a lot longer than you have."

Patty didn't trust her, though. Instead she heaved a large sigh, comforted slightly by the fact that her mother clearly didn't love Jean Pierre, and said, "So who's the warlock?"

Penny stood up and held out a hand, pulling Patty to her feet too. "I found him in the Book right before you got home. His name's Ventor. Powers include blinking, astral projecting, and throwing energy balls."

"Energy balls?"

"Apparently he's not just in to killing witches, he likes to go after demons too."

"Wonderful," said Patty. "Is there a vanquishing spell?"

"Nope," said Penny. "I was thinking you can write a spell, I'll do potion duty."

Patty nodded. "Okay. I'm all over it." She took the pad and pen out of Penny's hand and went back to the couch.

"Are we okay?" asked Penny. "I mean, are you okay? You know, with the whole Jean Pierre thing?"

"I guess," said Patty. She pushed her hair behind her ears and smiled wickedly. "I hope you and Pork are very happy together."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Just don't call him that to his face, okay, Patricia?"

Patty smirked. "Whatever you say, Mother."


	9. Date

_**Chapter Eight: Date**_

_

* * *

Four words: The. Date. From. Hell.

* * *

_

September 27, 1969 was one of the most horrific days of Patty's entire life, and one she would strenuously avoid thinking about until she died. It was the night she had her double date with Mary Ann and if she had followed her instincts, she would called Mary Ann and told her something had come up instead of putting on a nice dress, pinning up her hair, and arming herself with a spell and vanquishing potion for the warlock she and her mother had been after for two days. She didn't follow her instincts, though, and she would live to regret it.

She had been moody and sullen since she had found out about her mom and her new love interest, Jean Pierre, whom Patty steadfastly refused to call anything but Pork, but she kept it to herself, trying to be happy for her mom. It was some comfort that Penny didn't love Pork, but it didn't lessen her unease with the situation, and part of her wanted to act childish and selfish. Both fortunately, because it saved her from an argument with Penny, and unfortunately, because repressed emotions tended to be a danger in the Halliwell family, Patty buried this feeling and internalized it, not letting her mom in on her true feelings. She spent most of her time in her room, listening to the radio and reading magazines, desperately trying to avoid thinking about Pork.

She supposed it was a bad sign when her mom served bacon at breakfast Saturday morning, but Patty didn't heed the warning, and that night she found herself sitting on the bottom step of the stairs, waiting for the arrival of her date. While she sat, her mom bounded down the stairs, dressed up from head to toe and a huge smile on her face.

"You look nice," said Patty. "What's the occasion?"

Penny stepped off the last stair and stood in front of her daughter, turning once and showing off. "Jean Pierre is taking me out tonight," she said. "I want you to meet him, but it looks like you're going out."

"I have a date," said Patty. "Where's Pork taking you?"

"Some restaurant. I'm not sure. Are you going out with that Victor again?"

Patty rolled her eyes. "No, Mom. We're just friends. I've told you that a million times."

"And saying it a million times doesn't make it any more true, Patty."

"We've been on one date," Patty protested. "You have no reason to think we're-"

"One official date, maybe," Penny interrupted. "But you've also been to the movies twice this month, out to dinner three times, and I know you've met him for lunch at least four times."

Patty glared at her mom. "Friends, Mom. That's all."

"Fine," said Penny. "Who are you going out with tonight then?"

"Jon," said Patty. "Mary Ann's brother."

"Who's Mary Ann?" Patty had to give her credit, Penny never missed a beat.

"A girl I work with," she explained. "She asked me if I'd double date with her and her boyfriend and her brother tonight. It's a one time thing."

"You're so stubborn."

Patty smirked. "I wonder who I get that from."

Suddenly, the doorbell rang, and Patty rose from the stair. "I'll get it," she said. "It's probably Jon."

"Hang on a second there," said Penny, putting a hand on Patty's shoulder and halting her. "Do you have the vanquishing potion?"

"Yes."

"And the spell?"

"Yes, Mother."

"Okay then. You're free to go." Penny pulled her into a hug and then let her go answer the door. Patty opened it and found before her a man of average height and weight with long, shaggy blonde hair and sunglasses which completely contradicted his semi-formal clothing.

"Hey," he said. "You must be Patty."

Patty nodded slowly. "Yep," she said. "That's me. And I'm going to wager a guess that you're Jon."

"Bingo," he said, shooting her a large smile. "I guess we've got us a brainy chick."

Patty resisted the urge to roll her eyes and turned back into the house, shooting her mom a look and shutting the door behind her. When she turned back around, Jon was already halfway down the stairs, heading for the car. "This is going to be a blast," Patty muttered under her breath.

The restaurant turned out to be one Patty had never been to before, but it was nice and comfortable and had a great view of the bay. She liked it immensely, and would have been even happier if her present company was excluded from the excursion. Jon hadn't turned out to be any more interesting or clever during the car ride there, and Patty had a ever sinking feeling he would only get worse.

Mary Ann, however, seemed thrilled with the arrangement, and chattered on endlessly to Ben, whose build resembled that of a football player.

"So, what do you do, Jon?" asked Patty, attempting yet again to begin a conversation.

"Oh, well, I'm based out in Utah right now," he said. "Selling sunglasses at the Tiki Hut. Good times."

"So that's where you got the sunglasses," she said. He was still wearing them, despite the fact they were now indoors.

"No," said Jon. He laughed. "I'd never buy sunglasses from the Tiki Hut. These are from a vendor here in San Fran. Mary Ann bought them for me when I got here."

"Oh," said Patty. "Cool."

She resisted the urge to freeze the whole restaurant and bolt.

The waiter arrived and they ordered drinks, which he brought back promptly, and they ended up making it through the entrees, soup for Mary Ann and Jon and salad for Patty and Ben, without incident. Then everything fell apart.

Patty had just taken a sip of her lemonade when there was a tap on her shoulder, and she turned to see Victor standing behind her.

"Victor!" she said. "What are you doing here?" She rose from her seat and wrapped her arms around him in a grateful hug.

"Uh, dinner, with my parents," he said, pulling back and giving Patty a strange look. "And you're on a date."

Patty glanced behind her, and saw Mary Ann watching her with an annoyingly knowing smile on her face while Ben continued to munch away at his salad and Jon scooped up what was left of his soup and watched it fall back into the bowl. "Oh, yeah," she said. "Victor, this is Mary Ann and her boyfriend, Ben and her brother, Jon. Everyone, this is Victor."

"Hi," said Mary Ann. Ben echoed her sentiments; Jon continued to play with his food. Patty didn't really notice any of this though. Instead she noticed that Victor wasn't looking at her.

"Victor," said a woman coming up behind him. She furrowed her eyebrows at Patty and folded her arms across her chest.

"Yeah, I'm coming, Mom."

"Now, Victor."

Victor shook his head and started to turn, and Patty twisted her fingers anxiously. "Oh! Victor, is this your mom?" she asked. She stepped past him and stuck out her hand. "Hi," she said. "I'm Patty Halliwell, Victor's friend."

Mrs. Bennett looked at her hand for a long minute and finally took it in her own. "Nice to meet you," she said between her teeth. "Victor?"

Victor sighed loudly. "Nice to meet you all," he said. Then he turned and followed his mother without another word. Patty's heart sank. That had not gone well at all.

And before she could even plaster a fake smile on her face and return to one of the worst dates of her life, she heard, "Patty!" and turned to see her mother approaching her, a man who could only be Pork in tow.

"Crap," said Patty.

"Patty," her mother repeated, grinning. "Patty, this is Jean Pierre." She gestured to the tall man behind her. "Jean, this is Patty, my daughter."

Pork extended his hand and Patty took it slowly, with a stare she was sure equaled Mrs. Bennett's moments before.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," said Pork.

"Hey!" said Jon, proving once again he was the master of the obvious. "Your name is French, but you spoke with an English accent. That's bizarre, man."

Pork quirked an eyebrow and Patty groaned inwardly. Penny was the one to supply Jon's answer.

"He was raised in Britain," she said, giving Jon a withering look. She glanced up at Patty, who sighed.

"Mom, Jean Pierre," she said, grimacing, "these are my friends, Mary Ann, Ben, and Jon."

"Delighted," said Pork, sounding completely the opposite.

And suddenly, Patty couldn't take it any more. She subtlety twisted out her right hand and froze the room.

"What are you doing?" hissed Penny. "Are you crazy? Anyone could just walk in here!"

Patty threw her hands up the air in frustration. "I think I am crazy!" she said. "I'm on the blind date from hell, Pork here is being more uppity than I expected, and Victor just saw that I was on a date! Oh, and to add to the fun, his mom hates me."

"That Victor's here?" asked Penny. "Where? Which one is he?"

"Mother!" said Patty.

"Well for goodness' sake, Patty, I just want to see the man you're so hung up on."

"I'm not hung up on him!"

Penny shook her head and groaned. "Then why do you care that he saw you on a date? Why do you care if his mother likes you or not?"

"I...don't," said Patty feebly. She buried her head in her hands. "Oh, God," she said. "I like Victor! I like him as more than a friend!"

"It's about time you admitted it," said Penny. "Now unfreeze the room, get through dinner, and we'll talk when we get home."

Head still in her hands, Patty flipped out her right hand and unfroze the room. It erupted back to life and she raised her head, miserable. How could she like Victor? She couldn't. It was absurd. And her mom knew!

Penny excused herself and Pork quickly after than and Patty sank back into her chair. Only Mary Ann seemed to notice her change in mood, and as a result, she seemed to up the pace of dinner. For her part, Patty could barely make forced conversation with Jon any longer, and instead opted for letting her mind wander, inwardly chastising herself for her feelings.

When the group dropped her off that night, Patty started up the stairs without paying any attention to her surroundings. Out of no where she was hit by an energy ball, and she fell to the ground, the world around her going black.

The first person she saw as she awoke was Anne, her grandmother's Whitelighter. "Welcome back," she said.

"Oh, Patty. Thank God." Her grandmother replaced Anne at her side and she pulled Patty up into a fierce hug. "I was so afraid we'd lost you."

"I'm going to go," Anne said nervously. "I really shouldn't be here, you know. But you called, and it's Patricia-"

"It's okay, Anne," said Patience. "Go ahead. We'll be fine now."

Patty fell back on the couch, tired. Anne hadn't healed the killer headache she felt throbbing in her head. Still, she was grateful. "Thanks, Anne," she said.

Anne nodded and orbed out.

Patience took her hand and held it tight. "What in the world were you thinking, Patty?" she demanded. "If I hadn't shown up when I did that demon would have finished you off."

"It was a warlock, Grandma."

"That's besides the point. I was coming up the street when I saw him throw an energy ball at you. You weren't paying attention at all! You were completely blind sided!"

"I'm sorry," said Patty, closing her eyes and putting a hand on her forehead. "I had a bad night."

"Do you think the warlock cares if you had a bad night?" asked Patience. "Do you think the warlock cares that you were tired and not paying attention?"

"No."

"No is right, young lady. You have to be alert all the time! I know you were expecting him, I found the potion and spell in your purse. You can't be careless!"

Patty opened her eyes. "Did you get him?"

Patience regarded her granddaughter warily. "No," she said. "I just scared him off. He'll be back."

"Well, I'll be ready next time. I promise," said Patty. She yawned. "Where's Aunt Phoebe?" she asked.

"She went with Gordon to Gordie's football game. Heaven knows why. Where's your mother?"

Patty's features contorted. "Out with Pork."

"Pork?"

"Her new boyfriend," said Patty. "His real name's Jean Pierre."

Patience heaved a sigh. "I should have seen that coming."

"I don't get it," said Patty indignantly. "Well, I mean, I understand that Mom's lonely and she's never cared what anyone else thinks, but why is she dating someone already? It's only been two years."

"Two years is a long time, Patty," said her grandmother.

"It's been a lot longer than that since Grandpa died and you never dated anyone else," said Patty stubbornly.

"Your mother and I have led very different lives," said Patience. "You can't compare the situations."

Patty sighed angrily, tired of her life and secrets and of being frustrated. So she closed her eyes again, ignoring her surroundings, her headache, her problems, and drifting into sleep, her grandmother sitting by her all the while.


	10. Doubt

_**Chapter Nine: Doubt**_

_

* * *

It was a rough night for all of us.

* * *

_

"Patty?" Penny called out as she entered her home. She felt lighter than she had in months, her whole being so weightless she thought she might just up and fly away. It was a relief that Patty knew about her relationship now; a large weight off of her back. Of course, letting Patty know about Jean Pierre had been hard, to some degree, because she knew how much Patty loved her father. And she knew how she would have felt if her mom had started dating again when her father died; she had only been eighteen, a year younger than Patty was now. So she didn't blame Patty at all for disliking Jean. Maybe someday in the future, Patty would be able to understand. God forbid she end up a widow at the age of forty, as Penny had, or even as young as forty-eight, as her mother had, but if she did, perhaps she too, would date again, and understand.

"Patty?" she said again. But instead of her daughter appearing to greet her, her mother came out of the living room, hushing her.

"Patty's sleeping," said Patience. "She's had a rough night."

"Yes, well, she's young, Mom," said Penny, putting her purse on the table and heading towards the kitchen. "In a few years admitting she has a crush on a boy won't be such a big deal."

"Patty likes a boy?" asked Patience, momentarily intrigued. "Who?"

Penny made a face. "Victor Bennett," she said, entering the kitchen and grabbing the tea kettle off of the stove. "She met him at Buddy's." She turned to the sink to put water in the kettle, but stopped suddenly, turning back. "You didn't know?"

"Of course I didn't know, Penny. Use your head."

"Well then what did you mean, 'she's had a rough night?'"

Patience sank down into one of the kitchen chairs. "Warlock attack."

"What?" said Penny. She abandoned the kettle completely. "She was attacked? Is she okay?"

"She's fine, now, Penny. Don't worry. Anne healed her."

Penny's eyes widened considerably and she leaned against the counter for support. "She was hurt?" she managed to ask in a somewhat strangled voice.

Patience regarded her daughter carefully. "I saw the whole thing," she said quietly. "He was waiting in the yard. She wasn't paying attention. He threw an energy ball and she went down."

"Oh, God," said Penny.

"He had an athamé out," Patience continued, "but I surprised him. Froze him and stole it, but he fought through the freeze and got away before I could stab him." She paused for a moment. "I'm not quite as fast as I used to be."

Penny shook her head, and then abruptly stood up straight and left the room. She slipped into the living room quietly, and sunk down onto the coffee table, watching her daughter sleep. Patience had covered her with a blanket, and Patty had one hand thrown over her head, the other across her chest. Suddenly Penny felt like she was choking; Patty wasn't lying there, nineteen, no. She was five again, running in the house crying because Molly Henderson had pushed her down while they were playing hop scotch.

Where had the time gone?

Penny reached over and grabbed Patty's hand briefly, giving it a small squeeze, then she stood and walked back to the kitchen where she sat down heavily. Patience had gotten up and finished making the tea.

"Are you okay?" her mother asked.

Penny shrugged. "She's my only baby," she said.

Patience nodded, but didn't comment on this statement. Instead she said, "Patty told me you were on a date."

Penny sat up, suddenly a little more defensive. She didn't know how her mother would feel about Jean Pierre, and the last thing she wanted was to be judged.

"Kind of," she said vaguely. "It's just some guy I met in the grocery store."

"Who you're dating?"

Penny's eyes met her mom's defiantly, but before she could speak, the tea kettle began to shriek, and Patience turned away to pour the tea.

"It's okay, you know," said Patience, once she had the tea set and she had settled into the chair next to Penny. "To be dating."

"I loved Allen."

Patience smiled. "I know," she said.

Then, in a smaller voice, "You didn't date. After Dad."

Penny wrapped her hands around the mug and took a deep breath. She was dangerously close to breaking down. She shouldn't be breaking down. She wasn't the type of person who broke down.

Patience sighed loudly. "I dated before Dad," she said.

"That's not exactly the same, Mom," said Penny. "You weren't married before Dad."

"Oh, Penelope,"said Patience. She reached out and touched Penny's cheek lovingly, comfortingly. "You'll be fine," she said. "I have no doubt in my mind. You've been practically self-sufficient since you were born. And you're not exactly the type who needs approval. Just follow your heart."

Penny smiled. "Thanks," she said.


	11. Rain

_**

* * *

Chapter Ten: Rain

* * *

**_

_It was just going to be like any other Sunday. I guess extraordinary things happen when you're only expecting the ordinary._

Victor set down the phone and let out a whoop of joy, exiting his uncle's office. "I got it!" he announced to the room, shuffling his feet and doing an awkward little dance. "I got it! I got it! I got it!"

Mae, the only one present at that moment, didn't even look up from her magazine. Instead she blew a bubble and it popped loudly.

"Mae!" said Victor, rushing over to her. "Are you listening? I got it!"

She looked up from the magazine and blew another bubble in his face. "Got what?" she asked.

"The apartment!" he exclaimed. "I got the apartment!"

Mae shrieked and leapt from the chair, throwing her arms around Victor. "You got it?" she said, stepping back for a moment to look at his face.

"I got it!"

She squealed again and Victor grinned broadly as she threw herself at him for another hug. He twirled her around once and then set her back on the floor.

"We need champagne or something," said Victor. "We're celebrating my freedom here, after all."

Mae rolled her eyes. "When you get engaged we'll get you some champagne. For this you get..." She turned and scaled her eyes over her desk. "Uh huh!" She picked something up and spun around to face Victor. "For your freedom, you get this box of paper clips."

"Gee, thanks," drawled Victor. "I'll treasure it."

Mae patted his arm and turned around, distracted by the phone ringing. "Hello, Logan's Used Cars. How may I help you?"

Victor did another celebratory dance, passing by the window as he went, and then his heart dropped. Outside, making her way toward the door with only an umbrella to shield herself from the torrent of rain, was Patty. He hadn't spoken to her since he saw her at the restaurant last weekend. He was still so angry with her. Still so jealous. He'd wanted to smash that guy's face into his soup, the fool. What could Patty possibly see in him? And what was she doing here? If she thought he was just going to be okay with this then she had another thing coming. He'd show her.

"Hey," she said upon entering. She closed the umbrella she had and set it against the wall by the door, leaning back against it and twisting her hands nervously. "I managed to avoid your uncle this time," she said timidly, trying to chuckle and lighten the obviously tense mood. Victor just stared at her.

"Michael's not here," he finally said, arms crossed, frown in place. She was not going to get to him. At all. He almost wished Michael was here; then there could be a repeat performance of the last time Patty was here, when his uncle had nearly talked her ear off trying to convince her to buy a car. But Michael wasn't coming in until the afternoon. He hadn't been feeling well, lately.

"So it's just you, then?" Patty asked.

"Me and Mae." Patty glanced over at Mae, who was still gabbing on the phone, and to his chagrin, she smiled and waved. "It's never too busy on Sundays," he added. "Even less so when it's raining." Now why did he add that? It was personal. Not the mood he was trying to create.

"Does that mean I can steal you for lunch?" she asked.

"I don't think so," he said, and inwardly congratulated himself. "I can't really leave this place alone."

"But you just said-"

"What do you want, Patty?" he asked, cutting her off. To her credit, she looked a little nervous. Good.

"I just...I..." she stuttered. "I guess I just-" Then she shook her head. "Nothing," she said. "I didn't want anything. Just forget it. Forget I even came by."

And with that she turned and ran out of the office, not even remembering to grab her umbrella.

"Shit," he said. From across the room, Mae said a quick goodbye, hung up the telephone and stared at him.

"Is that it?" she asked.

"Ah..." Victor glared at her. "Shit," he repeated. And he rushed out of the office, just as the phone rang again.

"Patty!" he called when he got outside. She was halfway across the lot already. "Patty!" Jeez, the rain was really coming down. Had she walked all the way here? "Patty!"

Finally she paused, but didn't turn around. It allowed him the opportunity to catch up, though.

"Patty, I...Well, what were you going to say?"

She turned around now, and looked at him, sighing. "Look, Victor," she said. "I'm sorry. You know, about the other night. I...It was just a favor for Mary Ann...and....Well, I'm sorry." She turned again and began to hurry away.

"Wait! Patty." She paused again, and he tugged on his ear lobe. "Why are you sorry?" he asked.

"What?" she said, spinning on her foot to face him again. "What do you mean 'why?'"

"I mean, why? It's exactly what it sounds like. Why are you apologizing?"

She shuffled her feet a little and pushed a lock of hair out of her face. "Just...because," she said. "You were upset."

"But-"

"Victor! Victor!" Victor turned away from Patty to see Mae running toward him. "Victor!" she shrieked again. Behind him he felt Patty edge closer, and he knew she could sense the urgency in Mae's voice too.

"Mae? What is it?"

"Victor," she said, coming up to him. He put his hands on his shoulders to steady her and she looked up at him, her face contorted in pain. "Victor, it's Michael. He's in the hospital. Heart attack."

"What?"

"Oh my God," said Patty softly.

Mae nodded and pushed some of her hair out of her face. "Your mom just called. He's at San Francisco Memorial."

"Is he okay? Mae?"

"I don't know, Victor. Your mom didn't say. Just, go. Get the hell out of here. I'll close up." She held out a hand; his car keys were in it.

Victor shook his head, shocked. He didn't know what to do. What was he supposed to do? Beside him Patty reached out and snatched the keys from Mae. "Come on," he heard he say. She put a hand on his arm and led him towards his car. "It's going to be okay," she said.

"No," he mumbled.

"Yes, it'll be okay. Come on." She opened the door on the passenger's side and urged him in, then ran to the driver's side, climbed in and started the car.

"Do you know how to drive?" he asked distantly.

"Yes," she said. "Susan taught me. It'll be okay, Victor. We'll get you to the hospital in no time."

He nodded tightly, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

Michael was practically a second father to him. He had trained him to do this job, taken him on fishing trips, camping, to baseball games. He didn't have any children of his own. Victor was practically his son. How could this have happened?

Patty's hand slipped into his and squeezed reassuringly. He cracked open an eye and glanced at her, but she was focused on the road, so he shut his eyes again and concentrated on the sound of the windshield wipers. Back and forth. Back and forth. Swish, swish, swish, swish.

They arrived at the emergency room after what seemed and eternity, and Victor didn't bother to shorten his stride to match Patty's. He burst in moments before she did and spotted his mom first, then his dad, and finally his aunt Angela.

"What's going on? Is he okay?" asked Victor, rushing up to his family.

His dad nodded slowly. "Yeah," he said, clearing his throat. "He's going to be okay. We just heard."

"Thank God," said Victor. He took a deep breath, tears forming in his eyes. "Thank God." He turned and saw Patty standing nearby, looking uncertain of the situation. She was ringing her hands again, but he just smiled at her.

"He's going to be okay," he said, and Patty nodded in return, wiping at her eyes, and giving him a relieved smile.

And it was at that moment Victor realized that one way or another, he had to make things work with Patty.


	12. Risk

_**Chapter Eleven: Risk**_

_

* * *

That day in the hospital. What is there to say about that day in the hospital?

* * *

_

Patty stood back awkwardly as the doctor arrived to talk to Victor and his family. She felt like she should slip away, that it wasn't her place to be here, but she still had Victor's car keys, and it would be horrible of her to leave without saying anything.

This was the last thing she had expected to happen when she had left her house this morning, intent on explaining to Victor that the date hadn't meant anything. It had been a really hard week, not talking to Victor at all while simultaneously wrestling with the idea of telling him how she felt. She had tried to call him twice and confess everything, but hung up after the first ring both times. Finally, her mom had grown tired of her indecisiveness and promptly told her to get going. So Patty had braved the rain this morning, grabbed a bus, and made her way down to Logan's Used Cars.

Unfortunately, what she had planned to say this morning was not what she ended up saying, and now here she was, in a hospital.

Not quite how things were supposed to go.

Victor's family rose from their seats and started to follow the doctor, but Victor turned and came over to her instead.

"So everything's okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Victor. "The doctor said it was only a mild heart attack. We're, uh, going to go up and see him now."

Patty nodded. "Okay. Well, I'm just going to-"

"I was hoping you'd come too," said Victor. He ran a hand through his hair. "Unless you have to get home or something."

Patty contemplated him for a moment, then shook her head. "No, it's fine. I can stay, if you want."

"Great," said Victor. He motioned with his head for her to follow and she fell in step behind him as they made there way to the elevator. They got there just as the doors were closing, but Victor's dad stuck out a hand, catching the door.

"Come on," he said. "You can squeeze in. There's room."

Victor did, pushing his way in to the already crowded elevator, but Patty hung back. "I'll just catch the next one," she said. "I don't...I'm not really comfortable in elevators." Let alone crowded ones, she added mentally.

"Well then I'll wait with you," said Victor, starting to step out again.

"No," said Patty. "You go ahead. I'll meet you up there."

Victor regarded her for a minute and someone in the back of the elevator groaned. "We don't have all day!" he said.

"Third floor, room three eighteen," said Victor. Patty nodded, and stepped back as the doors shut softly, pushing the button on the wall.

The next elevator arrived a couple minutes later and Patty waited patiently as everyone piled out of it, only for her eyes to widen as she spotted her old babysitter making her way out.

"Cynthia?" she said in amazement.

Cynthia's head turned at the sound of her name and her eyes lit up in recognition when she spotted Patty. She approached her quickly, reaching out and giving her a big hug. "Patty Halliwell," she said. She pulled back and looked at Patty. "How are you doing, honey? I haven't seen you in such a long time."

Patty grinned. "I'm fine," she said, thrilled to see Cynthia again. "How about you? How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm great!" said Cynthia. "Really great. I just moved back into my parents' house, actually. I've been meaning to come over and see you."

"What? When?" asked Patty excitedly. Cynthia had lived one street over from Prescott growing up and had babysat Patty for years. Patty hadn't seen much of her since Cynthia had gone off to school, though, and that had been seven years ago.

"This summer," said Cynthia. Her enthusiasm faded a little. "My dad's been having some problems since my mom passed, you know. So Bill and I decided to move in and help out." She shrugged. "It'll be more room for the kids anyway."

"You have kids now?" asked Patty excitedly. She had known Cynthia had married a few years ago. It was right after Cynthia's mom had gotten sick, and the wedding had been a tiny affair, no one outside of the family was invited. Patty and her mom had sent a present over, though, Patty recalled. But she'd never met Cynthia's husband.

"Well," said Cynthia, "we have one son. Joey. He's two. And, well, I just found out I'm going to have another baby. That's why we're here."

"What?" said Patty. "You are?"

Cynthia's round face broke into a grin and she nodded her head. "Yeah," she said, and she and Patty hugged again.

"That's so exciting," said Patty. "I can't believe you're going to be a mom!"

She laughed a little. "A mom again," she said. "You should really come over and meet Joey sometime. He'd love you."

"Oh, yeah," said Patty. "I'd love to."

Suddenly someone appeared at Cynthia's side, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, honey," said Cynthia, touching his hand lightly. "This is Patty. I babysat her when she was a little girl. Patty, this is my husband, Bill Trudeau."

"Hi," said Patty, smiling up at him.

"Hey," he said. He didn't seem to be able to stop smiling. "You ready to go?" he asked Cynthia. Cynthia grinned up at him, her brown eyes sparkling, and nodded.

"Sure," she said. She reached out and took Patty's hand, squeezing it. "Come by sometime," she said. "Or I'll come by. You do still live at home, right?"

"Yep," said Patty.

"Great," said Cynthia. She leaned in and hugged Patty one more time. "It was so nice to see you again, Patty," she said. "See you later."

"Bye," said Patty, and Cynthia and Bill walked off, his arm still around her shoulders.

Patty watched them leave, still somewhat stunned. Cynthia was pregnant. What an odd, wonderful idea. It snaked into Patty's heart and formed a warm cocoon. Cynthia, her smart, funny, Italian babysitter, was pregnant. The one who used to help her with her homework and dance around the house with her and who'd let her stay up late watching movies and eating junk food. Patty grinned. Cynthia would be a wonderful mom.

Another elevator opened and emptied and Patty walked into it with only two other people, pushing number three and watching the doors close.

She found the room fairly quickly; Victor was sitting outside, head leaning back against the wall. Next to him sat his dad, his head cradled in his hand, dozing off. "Hey," she said, sitting down next to Victor. "Sorry I took so long. I bumped into an old friend of mine. My babysitter, actually."

Victor smiled.

"I can't wait to tell my mom Cynthia's living at home again," she continued excitedly. "My mom loves Cynthia." Then, suddenly, Patty recalled just why she was at the hospital. She gave a little sigh. "How's your uncle?" she asked. "Have you seen him yet?"

"For a couple minutes," said Victor. "But the doctor doesn't want a lot of people in there at once, so Mom and Aunt Angela kicked us out. He seems okay, though."

"Good," said Patty. "I'm so glad."

They fell into silence then, until Victor broke it by clearing his throat. "I-uh-well..." He lifted his head and she looked at him curiously. "I just wanted to let you know, that, uh, you didn't really have anything to apologize for," he said. "I mean. You had every right to be on that date."

Patty shook her head. "I shouldn't have been, though," she said. "It wasn't fair. To a lot of people. So I am sorry."

Victor nodded. "Okay then," he said.

"Yep," said Patty, and she opened her mouth to speak again, then changed her mind.

"So, just to get this straight," said Victor, not acknowledging her hesitance to speak, "you're not dating that guy."

"No," said Patty. "Definitely not."

"Are you dating anyone else?" he asked.

Patty laughed a little, nervously. "No," she said. "Not yet."

Victor nodded. "Well, uh, do you have any plans to? Date someone else, that is."

"I don't know," said Patty. She bit the inside of her lip. "I mean, there's someone I have in mind, but I don't know if he wants me any more." That was safe, she thought. Let Victor take that how he wanted.

"Someone I know?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. You know him pretty well."

"So, are you going to ask him out?" he asked.

Patty shrugged. "I haven't decided yet," she said. "Love's a risky business, you know. I don't want to get my heart broken."

"Yeah," said Victor, "but you've got to take risks."

Patty shook her head. This was the biggest risk she thought she'd ever take. It was the first time in her life she was putting her heart out there, and Victor could easily trample it to death. And the doubts she felt began to creep in all over again. What would he say when he found out she could freeze time?

"I'll take a risk," added Victor, "if you will too." And with that he leaned in and kissed her, and all of Patty's thoughts flew out the window.


	13. Destiny

_**Chapter Twelve:** **Destiny**_

_

* * *

Meeting Penny Halliwell was like being under the scrutiny of a microscope. I was a bug, and she could squash me at any time.

* * *

_

Years later, Victor would wonder what might have happened if he hadn't kissed Patty that day at the hospital. Maybe they never would have become a couple. Maybe they never would have married. Maybe they wouldn't have had three beautiful daughters. Hell, maybe, somehow, Patty wouldn't have died. He never would be able to say for sure; no one could. But he would wonder.

And then something would happen to make him realize what ifs didn't matter; the kiss and all that followed, was meant to be.

But at the present time, sitting in the hospital, kissing Patty while his father slept in the chair next to her and his mother was thirty feet away in another room, Victor's thoughts were not on the future outcomes of his actions. For how could he possibly know what was to come?

Patty was the one to break the kiss. She sat back and gave him a small smile, her brown eyes lit up. Victor smiled back.

"So you'll risk it?" he asked her.

Surprisingly, Patty shrugged and ducked her head shyly, a characteristic he would not have pegged in her. "You don't know what you're getting into," she said.

"I'm already in it, Patty," he said, trying to quell his frustration. "Stop trying to make excuses and give me a chance."

Patty opened her mouth to speak, gasped, and threw her hands out. It was a strange gesture, Victor thought. And so sudden. She spread her hands like she was going to catch a ball, and then instantaneously they were back in her lap. He'd never seen anything like it.

"Your mom," she whispered, and he turned around to see his mother standing outside of the room with her arms folded across her chest.

"Hey, Mom," he said. "How's Uncle Michael?"

"Better than I expected," she said. "Do you want to go in and see him now?"

Victor tugged on his earlobe. "Oh, yeah. Sure," he said. He looked back at Patty. "You want to come in?"

"The doctor said only two people at a time," his mother said. "And Angela's still in there."

Patty gave him a small smile. "It's fine, Victor," she said. "I should probably get going anyway." She stood, then paused, hesitantly.

Victor swallowed, hard. "Do you, uh, want to get some dinner or something tonight?" he asked. "You know, talk."

"Well, my mom and I were going to go to my uncle's for dinner tonight," she said. "But I can probably get out of it."

"Victor, your uncle is waiting," his mom said.

Victor stood and leaned down near Patty's ear. "I'll pick you up at seven?" he asked.

She nodded. "That'll be fine." She pressed a kiss into his cheek and stepped away. "Nice to see you again, Mrs. Bennett," she said. And then she was gone.

"I don't like that girl, Victor," his mom said as soon as Patty was out of sight. "There's something odd about her."

"You don't even know her," he said. "She's a perfectly nice person, Mom." And he brushed past her and into the room.

He arrived at Patty's just two minutes before seven, feeling slightly nauseous and incredibly nervous. The conversation that had followed their kiss had bothered Victor greatly; more so as the day continued and he replayed it again and again in his mind. She had responded right back when he kissed her. She had seemed to want it as much as he. In fact, it had been her speech prior to it that had finally given him the guts to take action. But then after...

What did it mean? What was she so afraid of? She must have had her heart broken badly in the past, for this kind of resistance to even starting a relationship. But Victor had no plans to hurt her; in fact, he was pretty sure he was falling harder for her every day. If only she could see that.

He shook the thoughts out of his mind and climbed out of the car, heading up the steps and to the door. He knocked loudly, and was surprised when the door was answered not by Patty, but by a woman who could only be her mother.

"Hi," he said, trying to be jovial. He smiled broadly at her. "Is Patty ready to go?"

Mrs. Halliwell raised an eyebrow at him. "No," she said. She stepped back and gestured for him to come into the house, so he did. "She'll be down in a few minutes."

"Oh," said Victor. "Okay." He glanced around the foyer and rocked back and forth on his feet a couple of times. "This is a nice house," he said. He looked back at Patty's mom; she wasn't smiling. In fact, she looked a little foreboding with her arms crossed over her chest that way. "Really nice," he added.

"Thank you," she said, but her resolve didn't soften. "My grandparents built it in 1906. After the earthquake."

"Yeah?" said Victor. He patted one of the walls. "It seems to have held up very well."

"Hmm," said Mrs. Halliwell.

Victor nodded his head and clapped his hands together, feeling incredibly awkward. Where the hell was Patty? What was taking so long? The silence was choking him. He had to say something.

"I'm, uh, Victor, by the way," he said, realizing he hadn't yet introduced himself.

"Penny," she said, sticking out her hand. Victor shook it firmly. "So, Victor," she said. "Do you go to school?"

He stared down at her. For such a little woman she was extremely formidable. And his charm didn't seem to be working on her at all. Just like Patty, his mind registered.

"No," he said, "I don't. But, you know, someday I'd like to. You know, business school maybe. I think I'd like to own my own business someday."

"That's interesting," said Penny.

He nodded. "I, uh, actually work for my uncle right now. Selling used cars. But I guess I don't really see myself doing it forever."

For the first time, Penny cracked a smile, and Victor felt relief flood his body. Somehow in his inane rambling, he had struck a chord with this woman. Now if only Patty would come down before everything was ruined.

"Do you believe in fate, Victor?" asked Penny.

And this was where he'd ruin it, he thought.

Think, man. What had Patty said about fate? Destiny? Think!

"Victor?" said Penny, clearly reading the panic in his face. "It's not a quiz."

Yeah, right.

"I guess so," he said, trying to read her face. It wasn't telling him anything. "I mean, uh, yeah. I guess I do."

He was drowning. And Penny wasn't going to do anything to help him out of it.

"Victor!" he heard, and he looked up to see Patty walking toward them. Finally. "Hi," she said. She paused by her mom.

"Hi," he said.

"So, I'll be back later, Mom," said Patty. "Give Grandma and Aunt Phoebe kisses for me."

"Of course," said Penny. She nodded her head. "Victor."

"Nice to meet you," Victor called as Penny disappeared into another room. Patty shook her head at him and started towards the door. As soon as they were outside Victor breathed a sigh of relief. "Wow," he said.

"What?" said Patty, stepping down the stairs.

"Your mom," he said. "She's pretty intense."

Patty laughed and the last little bit of tension left Victor. "Yeah," she agreed. "But don't take it personally. She's like that with most people."

They reached the car and Victor opened Patty's door before walking around to his own side.

"So?" said Patty, as he started the car. "How's your uncle doing?"

"Well," said Victor. "Getting a little sick of my mom, I think. But he looks okay."

"Good," said Patty. "I'm glad. So what was my mom talking to you about anyway?"

"Uh, fate," said Victor. "She wanted to know if I believed in fate."

"Oh." There was a pause. "Do you?"

"Honestly?" said Victor. "I have no idea. I've never really given it much thought."

"Is that what you told my mom?"

Victor laughed. "No. I pretty much babbled uncertainly until you showed up."

"You're going to need to get past that, my friend," said Patty. "You have to meet my mom head on, and make sure you're ready to parry."

"I thought you hated confrontation," said Victor.

"I do," said Patty. "But I've lived with my mom for nineteen years. I know how to deal with her in my own way. But everyone else just needs to fight back." She smiled thoughtfully. "Except my grandma and my aunt Phoebe, I guess. They're probably the only ones who can lecture my mom and get away without scars."

"So it's her older sister?" he asked, half-jokingly. He knew from watching his brother that while Nancy had some authority over him, Victor had none, just because he was younger. Stupid familial hierarchies.

"Whose?" asked Patty.

"Your mom's," said Victor. "Is your aunt Phoebe her older sister?"

Patty laughed. "No," she said. "My mom doesn't have any sisters. Phoebe's my grandmother's cousin; we just call her aunt because it's easier."

"Oh," said Victor.

"It's a little confusing, I know," said Patty, "but you'll get used to it."

"I will?" he asked.

Patty just smiled.

"I will," he said.


	14. Talk

**_Chapter Thirteen:_** **_Talk_**

_

* * *

I always liked talking to my mom. It was probably one of the things I missed most after I died.

* * *

_

Patty didn't arrive home from her dinner date with Victor until the next morning, feeling completely, surprisingly energized for one who had been up all night. So instead of going to bed, she put on her pajamas, and went downstairs to the kitchen where she turned on the radio and proceeded to dance around singing into a spatula while cooking breakfast. It was rare she felt this carefree, being as introverted as she was, and she wanted to take full advantage of it.

Her mother came downstairs around seven in her satin pajamas and a robe and walked into the kitchen laughing.

"What on earth are you doing?" she asked. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, surveying her daughter as she sashayed around the kitchen. Patty didn't answer, but just smiled coyly and danced up to her mom, extending a hand. "You're crazy," said Penny.

"Come on, Mom," said Patty. "Dance." She twirled around and swung her hips as she made her way back to the stove. Penny just shook her head, though, and sat down at the table. When the song was through, Patty turned down the volume on the radio.

"What's gotten into you this morning?" he mom asked.

Patty grinned. "I had a good night," she said, stirring the eggs around a little. "That, plus a total lack of sleep."

"What?" said Penny, her voice dropping lower. Patty looked up, astonished at what she had said and blushed deeply.

"Not like that!" she protested. "Nothing happened! Victor just took me over to see his new apartment-"

"Patricia Alice Halliwell!"

"No, Mom. No. I mean, he just found out he got the apartment yesterday. It doesn't even have furniture yet. All we did was have a picnic on the floor and then we were up all night talking. I swear, Mom."

Penny sighed. "So does this mean that you and that Victor are dating now?"

Patty scooped up the eggs and started portioning them between the two plates. "Well, yeah," she said. "We, well, we talked it all out and decided we're going to give it a go. You know."

Penny smirked slightly as Patty added some toast to the plates and brought them over to the table.

"What?" asked Patty. "What is that look?"

"Nothing," said Penny, shaking her head. She took a large bite of the eggs. "It's just, I told you you liked that Victor."

Patty rolled her eyes. "Okay. Okay, fine. You were right. Happy?"

"I usually am when I'm right," said Penny. Patty studied her mom's face, but she revealed nothing, simply picking up a knife and buttering her toast. She hoped her mom was happy about being right this time. She wanted her to get along with Victor.

"So," said Penny, not noticing her daughter's stare, "Grandma, Aunt Phoebe and I vanquished Ventor last night."

"You did?" asked Patty. "When? Where?"

"Let's just say I don't think Uncle Gordon is going to be too welcoming of me for the next few days."

Patty sighed. "Is everyone okay?" she asked. "Gordie wasn't hurt, was he?"

"No," said Penny. "It was simple. Grandma and Aunt Phoebe froze him at the same time, which made it nearly impossible for him to fight through, and then I threw the potion. Honestly, coming unprepared into a house with three witches. What was he thinking?"

"Who cares?" said Patty. "He's gone. Let's be thankful he wasn't more prepared."

"It's a shame Phoebe never had kids," Penny continued, ignoring Patty's injection. "The powers she received from her mother are spectacular."

Both of Phoebe's parents had been witches, so she had received powers from both of them. Patty had always thought it would be cool to be able to literally freeze someone, instead of just halting their movement. She had only seen Phoebe in action a handful of times, but what she could do was impressive.

"You know who's having a kid?" asked Patty after a moment. Her mother shook her head. "Cynthia DeLarco. Well, Trudeau, now."

"Cynthia's pregnant?" said Penny. She shook her head slowly. "She was a teenager that last time I saw her."

"Yeah, well she's twenty-six now, Mom. She grew up. And actually, she said this is her second kid."

Penny groaned. "I'm getting old," she said.

Patty ignored her. "I think we should invite them over sometime. They're living back in her old house again, now."

"Yeah," said Penny. She smiled. "That would be fun. We haven't had babies around this house since Gordie was born."

Patty smiled back at her, but it wasn't enthusiastic. She could feel the adrenaline from her natural high wearing down more quickly by the second. Suddenly she was very grateful she wasn't working today.

As if sensing this, Penny said, "You should go to bed, dear. You look exhausted."

Patty shrugged. "I was going to do some laundry today," she said. She yawned. "And bake some cookies."

Penny laughed. "When did you become miss culinary? You've never enjoyed cooking."

"Yeah, well. Whatever. I'm too tired to think up an argument to that. I think I am going to go to bed."

She stood up and started toward the door. "Good night, Mom."

Penny shook her head.


	15. Moving

_**Chapter Fourteen: Moving**_

_

* * *

It was my last night at home, but I even now I don't have a shred of remorse about leaving.

* * *

_

Victor opened the door to his bedroom and found his mother sitting on the edge of his bed. She didn't look up when he entered, and suddenly it seemed to him that she was very small. It was as though she had physically shrunk into herself, and all that was left was an old, tired shell.

"What are you doing in here, Mom?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Waiting for you. Where were you? You weren't home when I got back from the hospital yesterday."

How much was actually necessary to tell, he wondered. "I was out." He paused. "With Patty."

To his relief, his mother snorted and seemed to come out of her desperation. At least she was acting normal again. This feeling was short-lived however.

"I don't like that girl, Victor. I'm telling you, she'll break your heart."

"Mom-" Then he stopped and his shoulders drooped. He suddenly felt exhausted. "I'm moving out."

Sylvia laughed. "No you're not."

"Yeah, Mom," said Victor. "I am. I found out yesterday that I got the apartment I was looking at."

"You're not moving," she said shrilly. She stood up and came to stand in front of him. "You're too young. You can't possibly know what you want."

"I know I don't want to be here any more," Victor snapped. "You're suffocating. You drove out Nancy and Robert and now you've driven me out too."

She shook her head wildly, staring up at him. Had he ever been shorter than this woman?

"You can't, Victor," she pleaded. "I need you."

He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I'll give you my number when I get it. You can decide what to do with it. But right now I have to get ready for work."

"Victor, no," she said. But he walked away and entered the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind him.

**x.x.x.x.**

Despite Michael's absence and the necessity that Victor be at work until his uncle was back in commission, he arranged to take the weekend off to move, even going so far as to enlist the help of Patty and Barry. He had spent the week avoiding his mother. It wasn't hard; he spent long hours at the lot while she spent great deal of time at the hospital visiting her brother and comforting Angela.

Barry arrived first, early Friday morning, toting a huge cup of coffee and looking miserable. As soon as Victor answered the door, Barry launched into a lecture about how Victor had better appreciate his sacrifice of sleep. Victor responded by asking Barry if he'd brought his truck.

The pair were in the process of loading Victor's mattress into the back of Barry's pick-up when Patty arrived, strolling down the street.

"Hey," she said, approaching the pair. "Sorry I'm late. The bus didn't arrive on time, surprise-surprise."

"Hey," Victor responded, bending over and pecking Patty on the lips. He smiled down at her and she answered with a shy smile of her own.

Barry cleared his throat loudly. "This thing is fucking heavy," he said. "Can you two flirt later, when we're not trying to shove a mattress onto the back of a truck?"

"Sorry," muttered Victor, and he returned to shoving the mattress. Patty stuck her hands into the pockets of her jeans, and observed the process without comment. Once it was wedged in, Victor turned back to her and slung an arm over her shoulder. Barry rolled his eyes and started back toward the house.

"Aren't you going to introduce us?" asked Patty.

"Oh," said Victor. "Yeah. Well. That's Barry," he said, gesturing at Barry's back as he went up the steps. "Barry," he called, "this is Patty." Barry threw up a hand in response, but didn't turn.

"Nice to meet you too," Patty hollered back. She slipped her right arm around Victor's back and they started up the steps after Barry.

"Barry's not really a morning person," Victor explained.

"Who is?" asked Patty.

Victor smiled to himself.

At the door they separated and Patty looked around his house curiously. He ignored it, and slipped past her, starting up the stairs to his room. She followed suit, and soon they had joined Barry in Victor's room, which was littered with cardboard boxes not yet filled.

"You haven't started to pack yet?" asked Patty. Victor glanced over at her and realized the astonishment he heard in her voice was mirrored her face.

"I've been busy," he said defensively.

"Maybe you should've packed before you dragged the two of us out of bed at this ungodly hour," said Barry. He shook his head. "Asshole."

Patty chuckled at this.

"I thought you guys could help," said Victor lamely.

Barry shrugged, indifferent as usual. "What first?" he asked.

The trio spent the next four hours packing up Victor's life into boxes. Barry and Victor both favored a method that used very little organization, involving dumping as much as they could into a box. Patty, on the other hand, tried her hand at actually packing things neatly, warning Victor he'd never be able to find anything if he kept working his current way.

Around noon the pizza they had ordered arrived, and they sat down on the hard wood floor to eat.

"Is your mom locked up in her room crying again?" asked Barry, taking a huge bite of his slice.

"I have no clue where she is," said Victor. "The hospital maybe." He shrugged. "She didn't cry when Robert moved out. I don't think she will now either. It's not like I eloped." He shot a glance at Patty and explained, "My mom kind of cracked up when Nancy showed up married."

Barry laughed. "Went ballistic, is more like it. Your mom scares me."

"Me too," agreed Patty.

Victor rolled his eyes. "Stop exaggerating, guys. She's crazy, not scary."

"All I know," said Patty candidly, "is that every time I see her I nearly jump out of my skin. She looks at me like she wants to vanquish me or something."

"Oh, great word," said Barry. "'Vanquish.' That's your mom, Victor."

Patty dropped her head, looking a little sheepish. "Well, that's an exaggeration," she said. Victor shrugged.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "I don't care what you say. You're probably right."

"You're exactly right," said Barry. He grinned. "I like her, Vic."

The rest of the conversation melted down to a debate about whether or not anchovies were an appropriate pizza topping (Victor and Barry thought so, Patty disagreed). They spent the rest of the afternoon packing up the room, then Patty announced she had to leave for work and that she'd see Victor in the morning.

"You want to take the mattress and some of this stuff over tonight?" asked Barry once Patty was gone. "If you do we should leave soon. I've got a date tonight."

"Yeah," said Victor. He picked up a box. "Let's get as much over there tonight as we can."

They loaded up Barry's truck with about a third of the boxes, tying everything down, and set out for the new apartment. It took about an hour to unload everything, and then Barry drove Victor back home and left for his date.

It wasn't late, so Victor jumped in his car and went to Buddy's. He spent the rest of the evening eating french fries at the counter and talking to Patty when she was on break. When she got off for the night, he left too, driving her home and kissing her goodnight before they parted ways.

Just minutes after Victor had shut himself in his bedroom for his last night at home, there was a knock at his door.

"Come in," he called.

The door creaked open, and his father entered, carrying an envelope, which he twisted in his hands. He shut the door behind him.

"Hey," he said.

"Hi," said Victor. "What's going on?"

"Oh, you know," said Ivan. He tugged on his earlobe. "Look, I'm not one for words, but, uh, here." He held out the envelope and Victor furrowed his brow, standing and taking it. He opened it; inside was a check for two thousand dollars.

"Geez, Dad," he said.

"Take it," said Ivan. He shrugged. "I understand why you're leaving. Just promise you won't disappear, you know? That you'll, uh, call when you decide to marry the girl or something. Okay?"

"Yeah," said Victor. "Thanks. Thanks a lot, Dad." He reached out and gave his father a quick hug.

Ivan smiled slightly and then turned toward the door. "Oh," he added. "And please tell Nancy and Bobby that I, uh, you know. Love them. Whenever you talk to them."

Victor nodded. "Yeah. I will."

"'Night," said Ivan.

The door clicked softly behind him and Victor stared at the check in awe. Then he folded it and put it in his wallet. And it was right after this that he realized he didn't have any place to sleep that night.

"Crap," he said. He glanced around at the boxes, wondering which they had put the bedding in. "Please, God," he said, "let it be in one of the ones Patty packed. Hell, let it just be in the room."

He looked at all of Patty's boxes still left, first, since they were all clearly labeled in big letters, but none was labeled bedding. He swore under his breath, and started ripping open the boxes he and Barry had packed, but all the effort was to no avail. Apparently he and Barry had already moved the bedding.

Victor sighed, and decided to sleep on the couch.

By the next evening, he was living on his own.


	16. Macaroni

_**Chapter Fifteen:** **Macaroni**_

_

* * *

Some of the best times in our relationship were just hanging out. Victor could make me feel better about everything. It was a gift.

* * *

_

Patty sat Indian style in the beach chair Victor had set up in his apartment, a bowl of macaroni and cheese balanced on her left hand. Absently, she stabbed the fork into the bowl, scooping out a bite. It was warm and creamy, and one of the few foods Victor was proficient at cooking. Victor sat opposite her, on a very musty couch, his own bowl already finished and discarded onto the floor. The apartment was still highly unfurnished, but neither Patty nor Victor seemed to care. Patty found it a little refreshing, in fact, to for once be in a minimalist environment.

This particular Wednesday night, however, Patty wasn't as at ease as she usually was with Victor. For nearly a week her mother had been prodding at her to invite Victor to dinner, insisting one conversation was not enough for her to sufficiently know her daughter's first serious boyfriend. Patty had been reluctant to extend the invitation, though. It would be like inviting Victor into a war zone.

"I need a TV," Victor complained, turning so he was reclined on the couch. "It's the first thing I'm adding to this apartment when I save up some more money."

"What about some curtains?" asked Patty, giving up on her dinner and setting the bowl down in her lap.

"What?" said Victor. "You don't like the light blasting its way in during the day? Personally I find it refreshing."

"You were complaining about it waking you up just yesterday," said Patty.

"First a TV, then the curtains."

Patty rolled her eyes. He'd probably never get around to getting curtains for this place. Maybe she'd make him some for Christmas.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, when she didn't respond.

"No."

Except for the fact that she felt defensive and on edge today, and her mom wanted her to feed her boyfriend to the sharks, so to speak.

"Come on, Patty. I know you. Something's going on."

Patty groaned and threw her head back so she was staring straight up at the ceiling. That was another thing. How could he know her so well already? They'd only been dating a couple of weeks. She groaned again, inwardly. How ungrateful could she be? She actually had a boyfriend who cared enough about her to realize when something was wrong and all she could do was complain. God, what was wrong with her today? She was acting like a crazy person.

"My mom wants you to come to dinner on Sunday," she said, still not facing him. The ceiling was fascinating, anyway.

"Oh," said Victor. "Well, fine. I can come. No big deal."

"My mother will eat you alive."

"I'll struggle. It'll be okay. She can't eat me if she can't catch me." He smiled. "And even if she does, I'm all bone and stringy meat. She'll only get through a leg before throwing me out."

Patty smiled, in spite of herself.

"Knowing my mom she'd eat you whole just to prove she can, stringy or not. Besides, it won't just be my mom. The rest of the family will be there too."

"Even better," said Victor. "It can be a family dinner. An early Thanksgiving. I'll be the turkey."

Patty raised her head and looked at him. "Are you sure about this?"

"What twenty-year-old guy wouldn't want to go to his girlfriend's house for dinner and to hang out with her eccentric and sometimes scary mother?"

Patty slid off the chair and crossed the room, sitting down on the edge of the couch. Then she leaned down and softly kissed Victor. After a moment, she pulled back very slowly, leaving only a breath between their lips. "Thank you," she said.

Victor leaned up an inch and kissed her again, and for a few moments, thoughts of the family dinner fled Patty's mind.

"Is that all that's wrong?" Victor asked as he broke away, settling his head back against the couch. Patty sat up straight and laid a hand on his torso.

"I just feel a little funny today. That's all. No big deal."

"Okay," said Victor, and Patty patted him with her hand a couple of times before standing.

"I have to go," she said.

"No," protested Victor. He grabbed her forearm gently. "Don't leave."

"I have-" But she was cut off by Victor's lips on hers again.

She giggled. "I have to," she said. "I'm working tonight."

"You don't have to work," said Victor. "Quit and run away with me to Hawaii."

Patty shook her head and stood, Victor's hand trailing down her arm to grasp her hand as she went. "As tempting as that sounds," she said, "I'm afraid I'll have to stick with staying here in California and working at Buddy's."

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

Patty smiled, squeezed his hand and let go. Minutes later she was out the door and on the way to work, feeling just a little bit better than she had earlier.


	17. Dinner

_**Chapter Sixteen:** **Dinner**_

_

* * *

I always wondered what Victor's first impression truly was of my family. I'm not sure I'll ever really find out.

* * *

_

Sunday approached much too quickly in Patty's opinion. Early that morning, her grandmother had arrived, twittering about young love and sighing, then falling into a long stretch of stony, reflective silence. It was a cycle that continued on throughout the day, as Patience and Penny worked side by side, cooking dinner. Patty, meanwhile, sat on one of the kitchen chairs, trying not to let her mind flit to the coming evening by distracting herself with a book. It hadn't worked.

Ever since she had told her mother that Victor agreed to come to dinner, Patty had been dropping nervous pleas that her mother be on her best behavior. Penny kept reassuring her she would be, but she did so in such a nonchalant manner, Patty knew better than to put all her faith in her mother's word. Her mother was, after all, so very...motherish about boys.

At five, Patty went upstairs to get ready, repeating as a mantra in her head that everything would be okay. Victor really liked her. He wouldn't let her family, her mother, get him down. After all, he had been splendid about everything so far, why wouldn't he continue to be?

By six thirty, she was showered, dressed, and downstairs sitting on the couch, twisting her hands nervously. Penny, on the other hand, was sitting across from her looking completely at ease. She too had changed, leaving dinner in the more than capable hands of Patty's grandmother.

"Mom," said Patty, feeling one last reminder wouldn't hurt. "Mom, please-"

But the doorbell rang and in an instant, Penny was on her feet. "Don't worry," she called over her shoulder to Patty. "Everything is going to go perfectly."

Patty groaned and got up to follow her mother to the door, only to hear her uncle's voice moments later and collapse back to the couch in relief. Victor wasn't early. There was still time.

Her momentary peace did not last long, as her uncle entered the room, followed closely by Gordie.

"Patricia," said Gordon formally.

"Hi," said Patty, managing a weak smile. "Hey, Gordie."

"Hi," said Gordie, sounding sullen. Now thirteen, Gordie had turned into a tall, gangly, moody boy who spent most of his time with his friends or in his room, alone. Not that he had even been the most pleasant child, Patty recalled. Could anyone, growing up with Gordon as a father?

Gordie slumped down onto the chair Penny had been in before, but Gordon remained standing. He seemed to get anxious if he sat too long, and preferred to be standing so he could pompously pace the room.

"How's school, Gordie?" Patty asked, wondering why her mother and Aunt Phoebe were still in the hall.

"Fine," said Gordie.dully. "I hate math and science, though. I don't know why they make me take them. They're stupid."

"Now, Gordie," Gordon began, but Patty cut in.

"What do you like then?" she asked. "History?"

"Nah. I like English class, actually," Gordie said. He sat up a little and seemed to exude some enthusiasm. "We're reading _Of Mice and Men_ right now and-"

"What's that?" asked Gordon, as though his hearing weren't impeccable. "_Of Mice and_ what?"

"_Men_," said Gordie. "It's wonderful. John Steinbeck wrote it. And it's not very long. I could lend it to you, if you want, Dad."

But Gordon had directed his attention elsewhere.

"Penny?" he called. "What's going on? Where are you?"

Almost instantaneously, Penny appeared in the doorway, her armed crooked around Phoebe's, leading her into the room. Patty's heart sank a little. Phoebe hadn't been looking well lately, and every time she saw her, it seemed to get a little worse.

Penny led Phoebe to sit down on the couch next to Patty and then perched herself on the arm of the chair Gordie was in. "What's the problem, Gordon?" she asked. "Did you need something?"

Gordon, who apparently had just been inquiring as to Penny's location out of nosiness, or perhaps as a way to extract himself from the conversation with Gordie, just shook his head, and a dull silence fell on the group.

"I read _Of Mice and Men_ in high school," said Patty, desperate to start the conversation again. It kept her mind off of the only person missing from the party. "I don't remember it very well, though."

Gordie, who had sunk down in his chair when his father had ignored him, brightened up again. "I'll lend it to you then, Patty. I've got _The Grapes of Wrath_, too. Steinbeck's a genius."

Phoebe laughed. "You've always got your nose buried in a book, Gordie," she said with a smirk. Then her expression became softer. "And you're a very good writer. You were born for spell-work." She sighed. "Such a shame."

The others shifted uncomfortably as Gordon raised his hand, clearly ready to protest the mere nuance that his son was born a witch, but they were saved from the speech by the doorbell ringing. "I'll get it," said Patty loudly, and she sprang from the couch, grateful to escape the room.

She opened the front door and found Victor on the other side, hands jangling the keys inside his pocket. "Hi," she said, leaning up to give him a kiss hello. She smiled widely and stepped back.

"Hi," said Victor, mirroring her expression for a moment before sobering again. "Is everyone else here already?"

"Yes," said Patty. "Come on in, and just try not to get in Gordon's way. He's just bursting to lecture someone tonight, and you don't want it to be you."

She took his hand and tugged him into the house, shutting the door behind her and then steering him toward the living room. "Everybody," she said, squeezing Victor's hand reassuringly, "this is Victor. Victor, that's my cousin, Gordie," she used her free hand to point, "Aunt Phoebe, my uncle Gordon, and you remember my mom."

"Hi," said Victor, giving a little wave.

Patty gave him another encouraging smile and pulled him into the room, seating him on the couch between herself and Phoebe. Phoebe, she noticed, gave Victor a once over and nodded, clearly approving.

"I'm very glad you could come tonight," said Penny, not sounding so glad at all.

"Oh, yeah," said Victor. "Me too. I'm sure dinner will be great."

"As long as Patty didn't help make it," said Gordie. For the first time since arriving he grinned broadly. Patty stuck her tongue out at him and Gordie mimicked the gesture.

"Now, now," said Gordon, missing the joke, "Patty's not all that bad."

Patty shrugged. "I'm no where near as good as Grandma. Or even Mom." She winked at her cousin. The joke really was that Penny wasn't the best cook either. Not like Patience, who had a natural talent in a kitchen. But Penny was amazing at potions, an aptitude she had clearly inherited from her mother. Patty, on the other hand, preferred writing spells, just, as Phoebe had pointed out, Gordie would have. And everyone there, but Victor, knew it.

"Oh, you're at least as good as Penny," said Gordon. Patty rolled her eyes. Maybe Victor wasn't the only one who didn't know.

"Dinner's ready," Patience called from the kitchen. Her voice sounded far-off and had the dreamy quality to it that Patty knew meant she wasn't entirely herself.

Gordie was the first one to rise and scramble off to the dining room, with his father close behind, and after a moment, Penny got up too.

"Phoebe?" she asked, extending her hand to help Phoebe up. But Phoebe shook her head.

"The young man will help me," she said. "Won't you?"

Victor turned, surprised, but nodded, jumping to his feet and offering her his hand. Penny raised an eyebrow, but kept silent as she made her way to the dining room. Phoebe linked her arm through Victor's.

"Don't worry," she said. "It'll all be over soon."

Patty walked behind Victor and Phoebe as they made their way into the other room. To her surprise, Phoebe was the one to introduce Victor to Patience, who took Victor's hand, smiling and humming a little.

Penny and Gordon took the head and foot of the table, with Patty next to her uncle and Victor between her and her mother, and Phoebe, Gordie, and Patience across the table. Patience had already brought the food in from the kitchen, and to Patty it had never looked less appetizing. The butterflies in her stomach were still churning and she wasn't sure she could eat one bite.

Victor's nervousness, on the other hand, didn't seem to be hindering his appetite at all.

"This is wonderful," he said. "I've never had roast this good before."

Patience's smile became a little more real. Victor's compliment seemed to have drawn her back from the past.

"You're very sweet," she said. "Isn't he sweet, Phoebe?"

"The sweetest," said Phoebe with a wink. "I'm seventy-four. I would know."

Phoebe and Patience's assessment didn't seem to have any sway with Penny, however.

"What do your parents do?" she asked before scooping a generous portion of potatoes into her mouth.

"Oh, well," said Victor, "my mom's a homemaker. And my dad. Well, he probably would've played baseball or something, but he was shot in the leg during the war, so he couldn't. Anyway, he was a newspaperman, but he's retired now."

Penny opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by Patience, who seemed to have lost focus again.

"The war?" she said breathlessly. "Which one?"

"The second world war," said Victor. He glanced over at Patty, and she knew she should have forewarned him about her grandmother's tendencies to wander off in her mind.

"How terrible," said Patience. Phoebe sighed, loudly, but it didn't help the situation.

"I knew someone who was wounded in the first world war," she said. "It was horrible. I never got over it."

Phoebe cleared her throat. "And what do you do, Victor?" she asked, throwing the whole conversation on its back. Patty furrowed her brow. Did Phoebe think Patience was being too morbid?

"I'm a used car salesman," said Victor, clearly not perturbed by the topic change. "For my uncle."

"How marvelous," said Phoebe. "I always wanted to know how to drive a car, but I never learned." She sighed. "I suppose it's too late now."

Gordon sputtered.

"I can't wait to drive," said Gordie. "My friend Pete has an uncle who lives on a farm in Idaho, and when they went out to visit last summer his cousins let him drive in the fields."

"Well let's thank goodness we don't have any relatives outside of the city," said Gordon.

Gordie frowned and pushed his peas around.

"Were you parents married before the war?" asked Patience, still starry eyed. Victor opened his mouth, but Patience ignored him. "We should have-"

"I'm sure Gordie could drive well right now if he had to," said Phoebe. She looked nervously at Patience over the top of her grandson's head. "It's too bad we don't have a field for him to drive in. I could practice too."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Gordon.

"Aw, Dad," said Gordie. "Don't be so square about everything."

"My dad let me practice in an empty parking lot," said Victor, who seemed a little confused as to which conversation he should acknowledge. "It was when he was teaching my brother. They let me have a go at it to."

"Well that seems rather dangerous," said Gordon, and he was off on a rant about illegal activities and irresponsible adults.

Patty slipped her hand under the table and grabbed Victor's before glancing down at her mother. Penny seemed torn between annoyance and amusement, and Patty wondered if this dinner was going at all as Penny had intended. She had been pretty positive her mother wanted to test Victor and see if he'd be open to the family secret, but the entire event was degenerating into a normal family dinner.

Patience, meanwhile, had begun to sing under her breath, a song Patty didn't recognize.

Finally, Phoebe huffed, "Gordon, shut up," and everyone broke down laughing, even Patience, who seemed to come out of her trance. Only Gordon, remained gruff and drawn.

The evening ended not long after dessert, when Patty managed to get a moment alone with Victor long enough to tell him he'd better leave before he ended up alone with her mother again. Victor, who seemed to heed the advice, excused himself not long after, leaving Patty to escort him to the door.

They stood on the porch together, and Patty smiled up at him, gratefully. "Thank you so much for doing this," she said. The night air was chilly against her bare arms, and rubbed her hands on them slightly to warm them up.

Victor smiled and leaned down, kissing her hard. "It was fun," he said, once he broke away. "Your family's definitely interesting."

Patty shrugged a shoulder, and he kissed her again, lightly this time.

"So," he said. "You want to come to Barry's with me on Halloween? He's having a party."

Her mother would complain terribly, it was a very important holiday, after all, but Patty couldn't quite care enough to say no. She nodded. "Yes," she said.

"Great," said Victor. "You'll have to dress up though." He smirked. "Try to be a little scary."

Patty leaned up and kissed him again. "You don't even know what scary is."

Victor's eyes widened slightly, perhaps he could tell she was not entirely joking, but then he gave her one last kiss and turned to skip jauntily down the stairs.

"Dinner tomorrow?" he called as he unlocked the door. "My place?"

She shook her head. "Buddy's. I'm working until seven."

"'Kay. See you then."

And he was gone, leaving Patty feeling euphoric for the first time in awhile.


	18. Halloween

_**Chapter Seventeen: Halloween**_

_

* * *

I met Patty at that party, and it changed my life.

* * *

_

Barry Aitken felt he had very little to complain about in life. He had a good, steady paying job that he didn't mind going to each day, a kick ass apartment and bachelor life, and good friends. His family was relatively normal, a fact he appreciate more and more each time he saw Victor and his family, and he had never had any serious health problems. Overall, he really couldn't have been much more content.

He figured this was the reason he didn't really care one way or the other how things turned out. All the good things in his life had culminated into making him a very confident person, and because of his confidence, he had little fear about taking risks. In the end, he didn't think much could turn out badly.

It annoyed people, sometimes, he knew. His last girlfriend had broken up with him because he didn't really care one way or the other whether or not she was cheating on him (she was, mostly for his attention). His mom and dad weren't too fond of the behavior either; they were always asking him what he was going to do with his life, but Barry couldn't be bothered to think much further than the next day.

As far as his friendship with Victor went, Barry didn't really think his personality was a hindrance in any way. Victor was such a dreamer, so single-mindedly focused on the future and getting what he wanted, that Barry was good at grounding him; making him realize what was going on right in front of his nose. Simultaneously, Victor was one of the few people Barry respected enough to actually listen to his rambling views of how life would turn out.

If you asked Barry, though, life wasn't supposed to turn out any particular way, and Victor was going to learn this lesson the hard way.

Lately, Victor's vision of his life in years to come was becoming more tiresome than usual.

"Patty and I will be married," he'd blather, "and I'll have gone to business school. I'll be able to take over Uncle Michael's business and run it so smoothly. And then eventually we'll have a couple of children. Girls," and at this he would always grin idiotically.

He'd only met Patty once, but from what he'd ascertained, she was a lot more practical than Victor ever was or would be. She probably didn't fantasize listlessly about the next ten years. For that, he held her in a regard he held very few individuals, particularly ones he'd only just met.

Plus she had great legs.

He smiled to himself and waved across the apartment at Margie, one of his best friends from high school. She was dressed as princess or a fairy or something; he didn't know what.

This Halloween party was one of the more brilliant ideas he'd had as of late. It had, of course, been a spontaneous idea that he had set to work on immediately. The entire thing was inspired by a late night conversation he'd had with his sister awhile ago about the wild parties their parents used to throw. Hell, he'd thought, I could do that.

So he did.

The door opened again and he looked over to see Victor entering the apartment, his arm around Patty's shoulders. He was dressed as Dracula, all in black with a cape, fake teeth, and even a bit of fake blood dribbling down the corner of his mouth. In complete contrast, Patty was wearing a shimmery, old white dress with blue wings coming out of the back and a silver halo above her head. Together, they looked ridiculous, but didn't seem to notice or care. Barry grabbed a couple of drinks from the cooler and made his way over to them.

"Hello, folks," he said, tossing Victor a beer and then gesturing to Patty to see if she wanted one too. She smiled, but shook her head.

"Hey, Bar," said Victor. "What are you supposed to be?"

"Ringmaster of this circus," he said. Despite having the foresight to plan a party, getting a costume had waited until the last minute. He grinned and bowed dramatically.

Behind Victor and Patty, some more people slipped in the still opened door, only two out of three of whom Barry recognized. He waved generously to all three, though.

"Do you do this every year?" asked Patty. She was still smiling genuinely enough, but behind it he could sense some abject discomfort to her surroundings.

He shook his head negatively. "Do you not like crowds?" he asked.

Victor raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Patty, curious.

Patty shrugged. "They're alright," she said, and didn't elaborate. Barry simply smiled. The fact that she was making some effort to socialize in the midst of Barry's chaotic apartment was proof enough for him that she was pretty serious about Victor.

He punched Victor on the shoulder, and left to go socialize elsewhere.

* * *

Lottie Bagland had no idea who the host of this party was, and quite frankly, she was still a little peeved that she was there at all. It was, after all, All Hallow's Eve, an extremely important day for all witches. But her friend Magdela had a wild crush on some guy she heard was going to be there, and Lottie didn't trust her not to drink herself stupid and get into a horribly nasty predicament. She had, after all, known Magdela a very long time.

Her costume was really lame. Magdela had made these plans at the last minute, so Lottie had thrown on one of her sister's skirts, a white top, a shawl and a lot of beaded jewelry, and was pretending to be a gypsy. She didn't feel very successful on any account, and she had a feeling she was being a real downer to the rest of the party.

Resigned, she excused herself from the conversation, still keeping her focus on Magdela at all times, and wandering into the tiny kitchen area which was, miraculously, closed off from the rest of the apartment except for an opening above the stove which gave view to the living room. It was also quiet.

Pouring herself a glass of water and then perching on the counter across from the window, Lottie settled herself down for an indefinite stay. And to think of all the better things she could be doing on this night.

She spent the next fifteen minutes ranting in her head, when the door to the kitchen swung open and she was interrupted by another girl dressed as an angel. Before the girl could ever register that Lottie was there, the door swung right back open and a guy, obviously drunk, came in, leering at the girl. Disgusted, she threw up her hands-

Lottie spilled her glass of water all over her sister's skirt.

The man was standing, frozen, in the middle of the kitchen.

"That's an amazing power!" she exclaimed, jumping off the counter. The girl spun around so fast her halo fell off and her eyes widened considerably.

"You didn't freeze!" she said accusingly.

Lottie shrugged.

"Are you a..." the girl's voice dropped considerably in volume, "...witch, too?"

She nodded, and whispered back, "Maybe we better get out of the kitchen before he unfreezes. He will unfreeze, won't he?"

The girl nodded, clearly still stunned, but Lottie nearly hummed with excitement. Of all the places to meet a fellow witch! She glanced around the kitchen and, seeing as the door was blocked by the guy, decided the only way out was to climb over the stove and out the window that looked into the living room. She boosted herself up and over, and she knew the girl was following. Not bothering to glance back at the other witch, Lottie led the way to what appeared to be the bedroom, the only other silent place in the apartment. The girl closed the door behind her.

"Who are you?" asked the girl.

"Charlotte Bagland," she said. "Lottie, for short."

"I'm Patty Halliwell," said the girl. She stuck out her hand and shook Lottie's. "This is unbelievable."

Lottie shook her head in agreement. "I never expected to see another witch here. Especially considering it's All Hallow's Eve."

Patty leaned back against the door. "Barry's my boyfriend's best friend, and I thought the party...well, let's just say I didn't expect there to be so many drunken fools running around."

Lottie, who had expected nothing less than a fraternity-like atmosphere, sank down on the bed and said, "I'm here looking out for one of my friends. She has a tendency to get herself into situations."

"Hmm," said Patty. She tapped her fingers against the door. "So do you have any active powers?" she asked, lowering her voice again.

"Telepathy," said Lottie, and she hurried on to say, "but I'm not reading your mind right now or anything."

This brought a smile to Patty's face.

"So your boyfriend wasn't the idiot in the kitchen, was he?"

"No," said Patty. "Victor went off with a couple of his friends and I went to get a soda. I don't know who that was." She shrugged. "It's almost one. I'm hoping we'll leave before I run into the ogre again."

"Oh, you've got to give me your phone number before you go," said Lottie, a bit more pleadingly than she would have liked. She hated sounding desperate, especially as she was sitting on the bed of some guy she didn't know dressed as a gypsy. "The only other witch I know is my twin brother."

"Of course," said Patty, fairly enthusiastically. "I don't really know any witches my own age at all."

She walked over and grabbed a pen from the night-stand, scribbling the number down on the back of Lottie's hand. Then she gave Lottie one last smile and disappeared out of the room.

About twenty minutes later, Lottie saw her leave, holding hands with a gorgeous man. She glanced down at the number written out, and grinned.

At least All Hallow's Eve hadn't been a total letdown.


	19. Breakdown

_**Chapter Eighteen: Breakdown**_

_

* * *

For the first time in a long time, I wanted to go back to being the little girl I used to be.

* * *

_

On Sunday, Patty was relieved to find the cold spell that had come over her mother ever since Patty had announced her Halloween plans was apparently over. As she had assumed, Penny had not taken the news that she was going to a costume party with any sort of grace. Instead she was frosty, avoiding Patty and spending almost every night out with Jean Pierre. So Patty had decided just to wait out her mother's childishness.

After a week it was finally over.

That morning Patty came downstairs and found Penny in the kitchen making coffee and looking unusually perky. She was even humming a little. It was not typical Penny Halliwell behavior. For an instant, Patty flew into a panic that perhaps her mom's relationship with Pork had been taken to a whole new level and that Penny was about to announce he was moving in. Then just as quickly she dismissed the idea as ludicrous; no matter how angry Penny was about Halloween, she wouldn't do something like that without discussing it with Patty first.

Patty decided to take a shot and see if her mother would say more to her than, "Pass the butter," today. "Morning," she said as pleasantly as she could manage.

"Good morning, my darling," said Penny, turning and planting a kiss on Patty's forehead. "How are you today?"

"I'm fine, Mom," said Patty, more hesitantly than her greeting had been. What was this alien cheerful behavior? She sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. "Why are you in such a good mood?"

"What? Can't your mother just be in a good mood?" she asked, and the humming resumed.

Patty shook her head, completely bewildered, and didn't respond. Penny, meanwhile, poured a cup of coffee and turned around to face her daughter. But Patty couldn't think of a word to say. This whole morning was too bizarre.

"How was your party the other night?" asked Penny, causing Patty's bewilderment to triple. She had assumed that once they were on speaking terms again they'd pretend like the party hadn't happened, not bring it up within the first ten minutes of conversation.

"It was okay," said Patty, reluctant to admit that she had had a miserable time. She had quickly discovered that Barry's idea of a party was an immense amount of alcohol and very little else, and not being a big drinker, she had not been too pleased. At least Victor had sensed it and had not gotten completely smashed. And at least she had met...

"Oh, Mom!" she said, suddenly realizing what detail she could give her. "I met this girl named Lottie at the party, and you'll never guess. She's a wit-"

"Good morning!" her mother cried out, so loudly Patty felt the words die on her lips. What the hell was going on? She was about to ask Penny this very question when she noticed her mother was gliding towards the kitchen door, and she turned just in time to see Pork hovering in the doorway, waiting to greet her mother with a kiss.

"Oh my God!" said Patty, and she froze him on the spot.

Penny snapped around to face her. "Patricia Alice Halliwell! What do you think you're doing?"

"What do I think I'm doing? What is _he_ doing _here_ at nine in the morning?"

As though she had been punched in the stomach, Penny's anger deflated immediately. "Well, he spent the night," she said.

Patty stood up abruptly, feeling slightly nauseous. "Mother!" she said. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Penny shrugged. "You're an adult now, Patty. I thought you could handle it."

For a moment, Patty stood and sputtered unintelligently. She had very nearly shouted, "I'm not an adult, I'm nineteen, and no I cannot handle it," when she realized that saying that would undo the months she had spent incessantly insisting she was no longer a little kid. Now her mind spun round and round, trying to think of a different response. Finally she settled for, "You must be crazy to think I would ever be okay with this," and without another word she stormed out of the back door.

Outside she spent several minutes pacing back and forth and, surprisingly, swearing up a storm. She couldn't believe the nerve of her mother. What sort of forty-two-year-old mother went around sleeping with _Pork_ while her nineteen-year-old daughter slept in the same house? "Not a normal one!" she shouted at the door.

She sighed and leaned against the house. She had run out without her purse, so she had no money with her. Uncertain as to where to go or what to do, she sighed and decided just to walk. She started by cutting through the backyard and down through the neighbors' lawn, and that's when she remembered Cynthia had moved back.

Was nine fifteen too early for a visit?

Patty, more out of desperation than common sense, decided it wasn't, and headed down the street towards Cynthia's.

Once she arrived, Patty rang the doorbell, waited without being answered, and then knocked on the door a few times. This didn't bring a response either, and Patty figured that they were probably still in bed. Where else would they be this early on a Sunday?

Church, the little voice in the back of her head chirped, and Patty knew it was correct. Cynthia was a devout Catholic, of course they would be at church.

Well, she reasoned, there wouldn't be any harm in waiting for her to return, and with that thought she settled herself on the top stair, prepared for a decently lengthy wait.

This was not the first time Patty had sat on Cynthia's stairs, awaiting her return. A few times when she was little, Patty had run away from home, usually when she had broken something and was scared to tell her parents, or because she had had a big fight with them. How little things had changed after nearly a decade.

Except now her mom was having sex with a nasty man she had only met two months ago.

Patty hugged her knees to her chest and dropped her head down. And this was the position Cynthia found her in, an hour later.

* * *

Cynthia had done a lot of babysitting for the neighborhood kids when she was younger. There was Tommy Tibson, Kathy Santori, the Egler twins, Mary McKesson, and, of course, Patty Halliwell. Except for Tommy, they were all sweet kids, and Cynthia had really enjoyed looking after them. 

She had really loved Patty though.

Patricia Halliwell, as Cynthia had last seen her, was a tall, gangly girl with scraped up knees and a toothy smile. While she liked playing with the other kids around, she was also quiet, and not very bossy, so a lot of them walked all over her. A follower, not a leader, Cynthia's mom would have said, which was a little sad because Patty had been such an imaginative child. Despite this, though, Patty had always seemed like an exceptionally strong little kid, able to take any punch that came along.

Cynthia had always felt a little guilty she had fallen out of Patty's life so easily. She hadn't meant to, but then she had gotten wrapped up in school and her new friends and Bill. An eleven-year-old kid hadn't seemed to fit into her life.

She hadn't even been around when Patty's dad had died, and for that she felt especially guilt-ridden. At the time she had been in the last month of her pregnancy, and Joey had been born three weeks later. It had seemed like a decent excuse then, but now it felt shallow and meaningless.

Now that Patty had unexpectedly fallen back into her life.

She had grown up to be a very beautiful young lady, Cynthia had realized. She wondered if the little kid she had known so well was still buried somewhere inside her now.

Judging by the fact that Patty was curled up on her top stair on a Sunday morning, she'd venture a yes to her quandary. As they got out of the car, Bill gave her an odd look, but Cynthia just smiled and waved him into the house while she tugged Joey out of his car seat. She'd talk to Patty.

She climbed the stairs, Joey in tow, and sat down next to Patty, nudging her with her shoulder. "Hi," she said.

"Hi!" Joey echoed in his bright baby tone.

Patty lifted her head and smiled at Joey, and in return Joey leaned forward and took her cheeks in his pudgy little hands. "Hi," said Patty, and she took Joey's hands and pulled them down, kissing one before releasing them. Joey was delighted.

"So what brings you to my front steps this Sunday morning?"

Patty made a horrific face and rolled her eyes. "Pork," she said. "My mom's boyfriend."

"Oh," said Cynthia, nodding.

"He spent the night," Patty added.

Cynthia sighed, and untangled Joey's curious fingers from her earring. How problems had changed since she last consoled Patty.

"You don't like him?" asked Cynthia.

"I don't know him," said Patty, but it was evident that despite this she clearly still loathed him. "And my mom doesn't either. They've only been going out two months. There's no way she can be in love with him so soon."

"You never know," said Cynthia. "I knew I'd be with Bill forever after one date. That's all it took. Everyone is different."

"How'd you know?" asked Patty.

Cynthia shrugged. "I just did. I could feel it in my bones. Like it was fate or something."

Patty nodded and stared out at the street. For the life of her, Cynthia couldn't figure out what she was thinking.

"Aren't you scared something's going to happen?" she finally asked.

"What do you mean?" asked Cynthia.

"What if you lose him?" asked Patty. "Is being with him now really worth all the pain that might come later? What if something horrible happens? Is it worth the risk?"

Bill was a policeman; it was not the first time she'd thought that there was a chance she could lose him before they were old and gray. It was something, in fact, she had thought about for quite awhile.

"I would rather have a little bit of time with Bill even if it ends badly, then spend my whole life regretting not having him at all."

Patty shrugged. "Sometimes I'm not so sure it is," she said. And then she got up and walked away.

Well, Cynthia thought, deep down Patty Halliwell really was the same little girl who'd been afraid to take a chance.


	20. Rings

_**Chapter Nineteen: Rings**_

_

* * *

Sometimes I play the what if game, and I wonder what would have happened if I had listened to Barry, and decided to be practical.

* * *

_

Victor sat at his desk, staring at his calender, and wondering how it was possible that it had only been a month since he had begun dating Patty. If felt like they had been together a lifetime.

The truth was, he was so in love that he seemed to be drowning in the emotion. It was insane; he barely knew Patty. Then again, the rest of his life was for getting to know her. He had finally decided, after discussing it several times with Barry, and in the euphoria left over from seeing Patty two days ago, to propose.

Barry, of course, thought he was crazy, which he might well have been. In all the years they had known one another, Barry had never agreed with Victor's tendency to rush head on into any situation, and he simply couldn't comprehend Victor's grand romantic notions about life. "Why are you tying yourself down at the age of twenty?" he kept asking. "And Patty," he insisted, "is much too practical to accept a proposal at this point in her life."

But Victor knew something Barry didn't: love wasn't practical.

He glanced at his watch and grinned. It was a quarter past twelve, a time perfectly acceptable for lunch. And even better, Barry would just be getting up. Victor picked up the phone, dialed his friend's number, and waited patiently through four rings before Barry picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Barry," said Victor, trying to ignore the disgruntled tone in Barry's voice. Maybe he hadn't been up and about yet.

"Victor?" said Barry. "What's up? It better be important, I'm entertaining a guest. One of the female persuasion. Hint, hint."

"Jeez, Barry, it's only noon."

"Yeah, well..."

Victor rolled his eyes and decided to get down to business.

"Look, Bar, I was wondering if you could meet me for lunch."

"Victor..."

"It's important, Barry. I need your help with something."

"Shit," said Barry. "Hold on." Victor sighed and began to tap his foot, waiting nearly five minutes before Barry came back to the phone.

"This better be fucking life or death, man," said Barry. "I swear-"

"It is," said Victor, figuring there was only a fifty-fifty chance Barry would kill him when he found out what he really wanted. "Meet me at the dealership as soon as possible?"

"Yeah, yeah." And the phone clicked off.

Twenty minutes later, he and Barry were in Victor's car, and on their way to one of the only two jewelry stores Victor knew was in the general vicinity.

"So what's going on?" asked Barry, pulling on a pair of sunglasses. "Are you terminally ill?"

"I've decided to propose to Patty, and I need help picking out a ring."

Barry shook his head, disgusted. "You are the biggest asshole-"

"Oh, come on, Barry. I need help with this. It's important."

"Yeah? What the hell do I know about engagement rings? Why didn't you ask your mom or something?"

"Be serious. I haven't even talked to my mom since I moved out." He pulled up to a red light and stopped, turning to look at Barry, who was sitting perfectly still and staring straight ahead.

"Are you really going to do this?" Barry finally asked.

"Yes."

"Do you really need my help to do this?"

"Yes."

"Do you want me to hold your hand while you propose?"

Victor shot him a look just as the light turned, and Barry grinned for the first time since getting in the car. "Just offering moral support."

"Well don't," said Victor.

They pulled up to Zaphron's ten minutes later, and managed to secure a parking space right in front of the store, much to Victor's glee. "A good sign," he told Barry.

Unfortunately, the good signs ended with that.

Inside, they approached the glass case in which sat a dazzling array of diamond rings, and Victor got right down to business, peering through the glass to try to see what he liked.

"Can I help you?" asked a saleswoman, approaching them and smiling broadly.

"Yes," said Barry, smiling right back. He pulled off the sunglasses and stuffed them in his back pocket. "My friend here is in need of an engagement ring. And a cheap one if I'm not mistaken."

The saleswoman giggled annoyingly and glanced over at Victor.

"I don't have much money," Victor said defensively.

"Well," she said, pulling out a key and unlocking the case, "this group right here," she pulled out a padded cushion holding the rings, "ranges from two hundred to five hundred dollars, and is our cheapest selection in the store."

"Two hundred dollars?" said Victor, disbelief coursing throughout his body. "You don't have anything less expensive than that?"

"Well, unless you don't want a traditional diamond engagement ring."

"Shit," said Barry. "Those are some expensive rings."

Victor shook his head. "I can't afford that," he said. "Aren't there any other diamond rings, say for fifty to seventy-five dollars?"

The woman, who apparently hadn't appreciated either Barry's swearing or Victor's price range, looked very frosty, and answered with a crisp, "No," before putting the rings back in the case.

They left the store, Victor feeling completely dejected.

"What am I going to do?" he asked Barry. "I don't have that kind of money to spend on a ring."

"You could go for something other than a diamond," said Barry.

"No way," said Victor. He sighed. "Maybe Antonio's will have something."

It turned out, though, that Antonio's was not much better, and Victor ended his lunch hour on an empty stomach, ring-less, and thoroughly annoyed.

"Maybe Patty wouldn't mind something a little less traditional," Barry said when Victor dropped him off. "Talk to her mom and find out."

Victor rolled his eyes and pulled away, speeding a little to get back to the car dealership.

That night, though, Barry's words came back to him, and Victor suddenly had an idea.

Patty's mom would be the last person he would ever talk to about proposing to Patty, that he knew for certain. He was fairly sure she despised him, and the last thing he needed was for her to interfere before the proposal even got underway. Patty's grandmother, on the other hand, seemed nice, and odd enough, to offer the perfect solution.

Without hesitation or much more thought, he went to the phone and called Patty, who rather reluctantly gave him her grandmother's phone number. Victor didn't blame her for being curious as to why he wanted it though; he'd wonder too, if it was his grandmother.

The phone picked up on the third ring, and Victor thought it must have been Gordie who answered, but he didn't initiate any form of conversation. Instead he simply asked for Patience, and jiggled his leg nervously while he waited for Gordie to get her.

"Hello?"

Victor sat up straight, startled by the sudden voice coming through the phone. "Hi," he said, clearing his throat. "Mrs. Johnson, it's...uh...Victor Bennett."

"Victor?" Patience said. "Patty's boy? Phoebe," he heard her hiss, "it's Patty's boy."

"What does he want?" he heard Phoebe ask.

"I don't know. What do you want, Victor?" she asked.

Victor stifled a laugh, but it only momentarily muffled his nervousness. "Oh, I was just wondering if I could ask you a question. About Patty."

"Oh." She sounded startled. "Sure. Go right ahead."

"Well, I...I'm...You see, I've decided to...propose..."

Patience drew in a sharp breath and squealed, "Phoebe, the boy's going to propose!"

"What?" said Phoebe. "Is he crazy?"

"Oh hush. That's wonderful, Victor," Patience said. "And so exciting. Does Patty know yet?"

Victor raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no. You and my friend are the only two I've told. But, listen, I was wondering if you could tell me whether or not Patty would be open to a less traditional engagement ring. My funds are a little limited and-"

"Oh, my," said Patience. "That's quite a question. What do you mean by 'untraditional?'"

"Well, a ring that doesn't have a dia-"

"Oh!" said Patience. "Oh! Oh! Oh! I've got the perfect solution! You can use my ring!"

"Excuse me?"

"My engagement ring," said Patience. "You can propose to Patty with it."

"That's very nice of you, Mrs. Johnson, but I'm not sure-"

"Oh, please," she said, "I insist. Patricia will love it."

Victor tugged on his earlobe, feeling hesitant. It would be a solution though.

"Well," he said, "yeah, I guess that would work."

"Fabulous!" said Patience. "Would you like me to bring it to you?"

The idea of Patience Johnson in his workplace made Victor nearly chortle with mirth, but he decided to be nice. "Oh, no, I'll come pick it up. What's your address?"

She gave him the address and implicit instructions not to come after five, because Gordon would be home, and then they parted ways.

Please, thought Victor, let it be the perfect ring.

The next day he pulled up to the Johnsons', taking another extended lunch break, and hopped out of the car, eager to get the ring. He knocked on the door, and Patience answered, looking as starry eyed and dreamy as Victor remembered.

"Come in!" she said enthusiastically. "I've got the ring all ready. It's in a box and everything."

She led Victor into the living room and pulled a ring box off of the mantle, holding it out and handing it to Victor.

"Go ahead," she said. "Open it."

He did, and the sight of the ring nearly took the breath straight out of him. A simple white gold band with a diamond and sapphire setting. It looked like an antique. And it was perfect.

"Oh, Mrs. Johnson," he said. "It's perfect." He looked up at her and saw she had tears in her eyes.

"Yes," she whispered. "It is."

"How can I ever thank you?"

Patience smiled, and patted him on the arm. "Just marry my granddaughter," she said. "You'll make me the happiest grandmother in the world."

Victor swallowed hard. "Thank you," he said. He bent and gave her a quick hug. "Thank you so much."

She nodded.

"I'm sorry to rush out," said Victor, "but I have to get back to work."

"Oh, of course," said Patience. "Let me show you to the door."

She took him by the arm and led him back toward the door, smiling all the way. "Phoebe's sorry she couldn't say hello, by the way," she said. "She's feeling poorly again, I'm afraid."

"I'm sorry to hear that," said Victor. "Tell her hello from me."

Patience nodded. "Yes, I will. Well, it was very good to see you again, Victor."

He smiled. "You too," he said. He reached out and squeezed her hand, backing out the door. And it was just as she was closing the door that he noticed another diamond engagement ring, sparkling on her ring finger.


	21. Proposal

_**Chapter Twenty: Proposal**_

_

* * *

What a fateful night...

* * *

_

After Patty stormed out of the kitchen on Sunday, she and Penny had gone back to speaking to each other in short, clipped sentences, just as they had after Patty's announcement about Halloween. The only difference this time was that Patty was just as stubbornly refusing to talk.

Surprisingly, though, in the five mornings since that horrible Sunday, Pork had not graced the Halliwell manor with his presence again. For that, at least, Patty was a little bit grateful to her mother. Not grateful enough to converse with her, maybe, but enough to at least be civil.

To cap it all off, ever since her discussion with Cynthia, she had been feeling a little odd about her relationship with Victor. It had only been a month and she already felt as though she were drowning in the emotions she felt for him. She didn't want to be in love with him. She didn't want to even be deeply in _like_ with him. What she really wanted to do was blurt out that she was a witch and watch him run for the door now, instead of later.

Not that it would do any good. As much as she was loathe to admit it, even to herself, she already was in love with Victor, and losing him now wouldn't be any better than losing him later. Deep down, she held on to the illusion that it would hurt less; it had to.

She had practiced telling him one night, in front of the mirror. "Victor, I have something to tell you," she had told her reflection, hands clasped in front of her. "I know this is probably going to sound crazy, but I wanted you to know the truth. I'm a witch with magical powers."

How she pictured Victor's reaction echoed through her mind. A nervous laugh. Asking her to stop kidding around. And then all she'd have to do is grab something nearby, throw it up in the air and freeze it and-

She hadn't let her imagination go further than that. What good would it do?

She was trapped, and it was suffocating her. There were only three choices she could see: run away now and go back to being alone, keep on with the illusion, or tell Victor and let him leave. None of those options seemed appealing.

To top it all off, Victor had been acting oddly all week. He had called, a nervous jitter in his voice, early in the week to ask her out to dinner on Friday, but then avoided her the rest of the week. Which wasn't hard at all, of course, because she was avoiding him to in favor of soul searching. But why, _why, _was he not being his usual charming self? It bothered her more than she wanted to admit.

And now it was Friday and she was supposed to be getting ready for her dinner with Victor and instead she was lying on her bed, wearing a bathrobe, and feeling nauseous. _What am I going to do?_

Her mother's voice responded in her mind, as annoying and practical as ever: you're going to get up, dress fabulously, go to dinner, and stop worrying. Patty snorted. Easy for the illusion of her mother's voice to say.

Eventually, though, she managed to do it. She slipped off the bed, picked out an outfit, put on makeup and did her hair, and when all was said and done she looked amazing. Her stomach was still tying itself in knots, though.

What in the world was she going to do?

* * *

Victor felt the pocket of his suit jacket for the ring for the hundredth time since leaving his apartment. He was sitting outside Patty's house, car parked, willing the elephants tromping around his stomach to go away. She had to say yes. She had to say yes. What else could she say? No one really said "no" to a proposal, did they?

He swallowed hard and prayed his hands would stop shaking enough to get through the evening.

Without further hesitation he got out of the car and walked up the steps to the front door, knocking loudly and fixing a smile on his face. This night was going to be perfect. Perfect. The door opening, and his smile became genuine as he saw Patty standing in front of him, looking more beautiful than he had ever seen her.

"Hey," he said, unconsciously wiping his sweaty palms against his slacks. "You look wonderful."

Patty ducked her head shyly then gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks," she said. She shifted her purse from one shoulder to the other and for a fleeting second, Victor wondered if she was as nervous as he.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "You seem a little nervous."

She shook her head too quickly and smiled. "Oh, no, just...you know." She shrugged. "I still haven't made up with my mom yet and...well...it's just been a long week."

"Ah, well, tonight will take your mind off of all of that, I guarantee you." He took her hand and squeezed it, then tugged on it, urging her to the car.

"I hope so," she said, and she began to buckle her seatbelt as he shut the door and jaunted over to the driver's side. _Perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect_, he recited as a mantra in his mind.

The drive to the restaurant was short and uneventful. The conversation had been choppy, on Victor's part because of his nervousness, on Patty's part, he guessed, because of whatever was bothering her. Unfortunately, though, it only served to further unnerve him.

It wasn't until they were seated and Patty was poking at her salad that Victor built up the resolve to make conversation again. Really, though, he was so agitated he just wanted to propose and watch her eyes light up and her smile be genuinely happy.

"So," he said, "I think I'm going to start taking night classes next semester at community college."

"Yeah?" said Patty. "That should be good. You said before you've wanted to for awhile."

Victor nodded, trying to ignore the heaviness of his coat pocket. "It'll be slow going, being only a part-time student, but I think it's worth it. Especially if I'm working at the same time."

"You'll be great," she said. "You've got a head for business."

He hesitated, twirling his salad fork in his fingers and staring down at his salad with a blank expression. "Maybe you could take some classes too," he said, not looking up to meet her eyes. This was such a sensitive topic with her, but she was so intelligent, he couldn't just see her working at Buddy's forever.

She laughed lightly, but it had a hint of edginess to it. "Maybe," she said. "But I'm pretty happy with where my life is right now."

He looked up and watched her stab at her salad, looking positively miserable. "But Patty-"

"Look, Victor," she interrupted, "I know you mean well, but you've only known me a month." She set down her fork and crossed her arms. "I have more in my life than Buddy's."

"I know that!" he said. "You've got me and your friends and your family..." _Although you seem to fight with your mom almost as much as I fight with mine..._

"Yeah, I do," she said. "And I've got other things too, so just let it go." She sighed. "Between you and Susan, I swear..."

"Jeez, Patty," he said, frustrated with both her and the fact that he was getting snippy on the night he was going to propose. "This is the only time I've brought it up and Susan's not even here most of the year. Don't overreact."

She shook her head and picked up her fork again. "I'm sorry, Victor," she said. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Yeah, well, you're not the only one."

For the first time that night she looked at him with genuine interest and puzzlement on her features. "I'm sorry," she said again. "Is something bothering you?"

"No, I..." He shook his head. "Nothing that won't be resolved."

Patty smiled. "Okay, then," she said.

As some sort of peace offering, he assumed, Patty spent the rest of their dinner talking about nothing of great consequence, and making an effort to be pleasant. Still, something was distracting her, and he knew that he still didn't have her full attention.

He had thought out this proposal business as carefully as someone with a rash personality could. Dinner at a fancy restaurant had seemed like a great idea at the time, though he was now wondering if something more casual would have been smarter. Where he planned to propose, the bench they had talked at on their first date, he still hoped would be ideal, though. Romantic and significant and lovely. All requirements that were meant. He bit his lip as he paid the bill, his nerves more jumbled than ever before in his life, and was only calmed slightly when Patty put an arm around his waist on the walk to the car.

_Perfect,_ he thought. _It just has to be._

* * *

Patty felt horrible for being so short with Victor. He had gone to all the trouble to take her out to a nice, beautiful dinner, and she had been so obsessed with her own issues she had treated him awfully. She'd make it up to him somehow. If she didn't decide to break up with him, of course.

Something was wrong with him tonight, anyway. He had been acting nervous and rigid all evening, constantly touching the pocket of his coat and jiggling his hands and legs. He also kept tugging at his earlobe, a clear sign he was agitated. It couldn't just be at her behavior, could it?

"So, where are we?" she asked as he opened her car door and helped her out. She wrapped an arm around his waist again and he draped his over her shoulders. They walked toward a bench and Victor stopped in front of it, smiling down at her.

"Recognize it?"

Patty glanced down, momentarily puzzled, and then it came rushing back to her. It was that bench from their hot dog date. Their first date.

"Oh!" she said. She grinned and squeezed her arm a little more tightly around him, but he didn't respond. Instead he pulled his arm away and moved to stand in front of her, taking both of her hands in his and swinging them.

She smiled nervously. "What's going on, Victor?"

He smiled back and squeezed her left hand a couple of times.

"Victor?"

He cleared his throat. "Look, uh, Patty, I love you."

Patty's mouth fell open in shock. What...how...what?

"I love you," he said again, more confidently. "I've never felt this way about anyone else. I loved you the second I saw you and I know I'll love you until the day I die. I can't imagine my life without you."

_Oh, God,_ she thought. _Oh, oh no..._

Victor sank to one knee, still holding her left hand, and fumbled awkwardly to pull a little box out of his coat pocket. With a little effort he opened it and held it out to her. "Patricia Halliwell," he said, "will you marry me?"

Patty swallowed hard and tried unsuccessfully to breath. Without thinking, she froze Victor with her right hand, and extracted her left from his, pacing back in forth in front of the bench in pure, unadulterated panic.

"What are you thinking?" she yelled at him. "We've only dated for a month, and I'm only nineteen, and I'm a witch and you don't even know it! We can't get married! Are you insane?"

Victor, of course, didn't answer, but simply kneeled there, hope and love shining in his frozen expression.

Patty sank onto the bench and buried her head in her hands. "Oh, Victor," she said. Without thinking her eyes welled up and she knew she was going to cry. This was so unfair. Why couldn't she just be normal? Why couldn't she just be happy that her boyfriend, whom she loved, was proposing to her and wanted to be with her the rest of her life?

She swiped at her eyes, her makeup smearing across her face and stood, forcing her hand back into his and unfreezing him. His expression instantly changed from hopeful to concerned as he looked up at her face, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew it had to be odd to him that her expression had changed instantly.

"Patty-"

"Victor," she said, choking, "I can't. We can't."

"What? Patty, why?" he said, scrambling to his feet as she backed away from him.

"Because!" she said. "I...it's just...we can't!"

He threw up a hand and began to pace, the anger emanating from his entire body. "That's bullshit, Patty!" he yelled. "I want to know why. What's wrong with you tonight?"

She shook her head, wildly, turning away from him, trying to disconnect. After all of her concern and worry, this was how it would end. She swallowed hard. "I'm sorry," she said. And she ran away, not turning to see Victor's response.


	22. Thanksgiving

_**Chapter Twenty-One:** **Thanksgiving**_

_

* * *

I never could have another peaceful Thanksgiving after that one.

* * *

_

"Gordon Johnson, for heaven's sake, get a move on. You and Gordie are going to be late."

Gordon crossed his arms and looked down at his mother, who glared back up at him with a defiance he had rarely seen in his lifetime. "Mother," he said, "I don't like the idea of you spending Thanksgiving alone. You should come with us to Penny's."

"Well it's a very good thing that I am not alone for Thanksgiving, darling. Phoebe's right upstairs."

"Mother, I hardly think that-"

Patience put a hand on her son's forearm, willing peace into his body, an act she had been trying and failing at for thirty-six long years. "Please, Gordon," she said. "It's a holiday. I don't want to fight."

Gordon looked like he very well would do whatever he pleased, but just then Gordie entered the room, stuffing a small paperback into his suit pocket. "Ready, Dad?" he asked.

There was a small sigh of resignation and then Gordon said, "Go get in the car, Gordie. It's cold outside." Gordie smiled and gave Patience a quick hug, then hurried past his father and through the front door. "Now, Mother, are you sure-"

"I'll be fine, Gordon," she said, pushing him toward the door. "Give Penny and Patty my love."

"We won't be late."

"You never are, dear."

Gordon raised an eyebrow and Patience gave a small wave, then shut the door behind him, leaning back against it and letting out a sigh of relief. Much as she loved her son, he was a huge pain at times. _He's just looking out for you_, she told herself. And she knew it was hard for him. Between losing his father at such a young age and Elizabeth's death he had turned into a compulsive worrier. Gordie, unfortunately, would suffer the worst of it.

The children always did, after all. Patience knew that very well. And at least Gordon wasn't the scatterbrained, starry-eyed lost soul she was. Patience shook her head. This week was an unusual exception to the norm of the past few decades; for the first time in years she felt grounded, bitter, and tired. She thought she might prefer her other personality more.

The problem was, of course, that her oldest and dearest friend was ill and there was nothing either of them could do to stop what was inevitably coming. The reality of the situation had brought Patience back to earth, momentarily. After all, if she wasn't going to be there for Phoebe in her hour of need, who was.

She went to the kitchen and poured two bowls of the chicken noodle soup she had made (hardly the feast she knew her daughter would be preparing, but enough for two old girls to get through the night). And they could still give thanks, too.

"Phoebe," she said, entering her cousin's room and smiling broadly. "Ready for the best Thanksgiving dinner of your life?"

Phoebe managed a weak smile, and Patience felt the same stab of pain in her heart that she had been feeling for some time now. It had been what finally jolted her back to reality (it was also, coincidentally, what had sent her away from it).

She set the bowls down on the dresser and pulled out the two trays she had beneath her arm, settling one onto Phoebe's lap, and the other on the chair near her bed. Then the soup went onto both trays and she carefully picked up her own tray and sat down. "I hope you're hungry," she said.

"We have to give thanks first," said Phoebe, coughing a little and clearing her throat. "Tradition."

Patience nodded. "I am thankful for my wonderful, loving family," she said.

"You use that every year," said Phoebe. Patience shrugged.

"Well then, I'm also thankful that very soon I'll have a loving grandson-in-law to put my ring to good use."

"Much better," said Phoebe.

"Yes, well, it's your turn now."

Phoebe swallowed and looked up at the ceiling. "Oh, well I don't know," she said.

"Hurry up," Patience teased. "The soup is getting cold."

"I'm thankful," Phoebe said, all the while still staring at the ceiling, "that in my lifetime I had a beautiful cousin through whom I could live the family life vicariously, without actually having to give up my wild ways."

"Ah, so that's where Penny gets that wild spirit from."

Phoebe smirked, and finally looked back at Patience. "All the good qualitites come from distant cousins, dear. Everyone knows that."

"Yes, well on that note, I suggest we eat."

They both dug into their soup, albeit, Patience a little faster than Phoebe, whose hands were shaking rather badly. One outward gesture of help that suggested Phoebe was incapable of anything, though, would end with spilled soup all over the bedspread. Patience knew her cousin better than anyone. And Phoebe was the only one who knew her.

Part of Patience wanted to speak out against the elephant in the room. They both knew Phoebe was dying, and they both knew it was merely a matter of time, but neither one had yet to admit it. The rest of the family, with the exception of Gordie, who was sometimes too smart for his own good, was living in denial.

It wasn't until Phoebe put down her spoon and leaned her head back against the pillow, that she spoke again. "You know, Patience," she said, "I must say that I have had seventy-four wonderful years of life."

"Mostly good?" asked Patience.

"Mostly," said Phoebe. "And I think 1969 is a grand year to die."

Patience shrugged. "I'm personally holding out for the 1970s."

"Well," said Phoebe, "you would."

They both smiled, a sad truth twisting through both of their hearts and Patience was just opening her mouth to speak when they were interrupted by the doorbell.

"Expecting company?" asked Phoebe.

Patience shook her head. "I'll be right back," she said.

She went downstairs as quickly as she could at her old age and pulled open the door. To her shock, there stood Victor, clearly intoxicated, and looking as though he'd been through hell and back.

"Victor!" she said. He swayed back in forth in front of her and raised a hand in salutation.

"Hello," he said. "I'm here to give you back your ring."

Patience stared at him, trying to decipher the slurred rambling and finally realizing what he meant when he thrust the ring box she had given to him right in her face.

"What?" she said. "Why, Victor? I told you you could have it." She shook her head, confused. "Come in, okay? We'll get you some coffee and-"

"No!" said Victor, and he forced the box into her hand. "I can't have it. Patty said no."

"She said what?" asked Patience, stunned. "She said no?"

Victor nodded emphatically, swiping a hand across his eyes and heaving a great sigh.

"But why?"

"Don't know."

Patience shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts away and concentrate on Patty. She had been so sure of her granddaughter's feelings.

"I gotta go now," said Victor. "I got a taxi."

"Well I'm very glad you're not driving, Victor," said Patience, "but we're not through yet. I don't care if Patty said no, I think you should keep the ring and try again."

"No!" said Victor. "She doesn't want me."

"You listen to me, young man," said Patience, pulling every ounce of strength she possessed inward. "I don't care if she told you no, I know my granddaughter very well and I tell you right now that she's not thinking clearly. Now if you just wait and let me talk to her, maybe we can sort this out."

Victor blinked several times and gaped at her. "You'll talk to her?"

"Only if you take this back," she said.

Victor stared at the ring box for several long seconds, maybe just trying to focus on it, and finally swiped it out of her hand. "I'll guard it with my life," he said.

Patience nodded. "Of course you will. Now," she said, taking him by the arm and leading him down the stairs, "you go home and go right to bed. Get a nice long sleep, and I'll go sort things out with Patty, okay?"

"'Kay."

"Good," said Patience, and she opened the door of the taxi and helped Victor inside. She waited until Victor managed to give the driver his address and then shut the door and watched the cab hurry away before going back indoors. If nothing else, at least now she could reassure Penny that Victor really was wild about Patty.

What in the world was going on with Patty? Patience could understand perfectly well if her granddaughter didn't feel a thing in the world for Victor, but she didn't really believe that was the case. And she knew all too well about doubt and grief and regret. She would not let Patty make the same mistakes she did.

"Phoebe," she said, walking back into the room, "you've got to help me decide how to tell Patty about Arnold."

But Phoebe couldn't help. And as Patience looked down at her cousin's lifeless body on that Thanksgiving, she felt more lost and alone than she had in all of her life.


	23. Journals

**_Chapter Twenty-Two:_ _Journals_**

_

* * *

Phoebe's death brought more clarity than I would have thought possible.

* * *

_

Patty offered her mom a weak smile as she wrapped her arm around Patty's shoulders. They were in the park, and the funeral had ended mere minutes ago. For some reason only Patience knew but insisted on not divulging, Phoebe had requested to be cremated and to have her ashes spread throughout the park. Patience had done the honor herself, holding herself more composed than Patty had expected. She, on the other hand, had been a wreck for awhile. The idea that Phoebe was dead was simply unfathomable.

"I don't know why Patience agreed to see the lawyer about Phoebe's will tonight," said Penny. She didn't sound irritated, as Patty would have expected. Merely tired, and sad. "It could have waited."

Patty shrugged, and hugged herself a little closer to her mom. Their silent feud had been forgotten the moment the phone rang on Thanksgiving, and Patty couldn't help be feel relieved. She needed her mom, now more than ever.

They had agreed to meet the lawyer at the manor after the funeral, and Patty was personally dreading it. Maybe Patience had thought it was something to get over and done with as soon as possible. If so, Patty could hardly blame her. Phoebe's death could be harder on no one than her grandmother.

Patty opened the door to her uncle's car and slipped into the back seat. She was sandwiched between her mother and Gordie; Patience was the last into the car.

"Phoebe will be happy knowing we did as she said," said Patience as she settled into the seat. Patty thought this statement was meant for Gordon, who, always the insensitive, most likely would have commented on the matter. The funeral had hardly been traditional in any sense of the word.

"Of course she will," said Penny. She took Patty's hand and squeezed it, hard. Patty forced the lump in her throat not to well up again.

"I didn't even get to say goodbye!" she had said to her mom on the night of the call. She had slept in her mother's room that night, feeling afraid of the dark again. It had been the same when her father died.

Death was terrifying, she thought. Not because of the unknown, because Patty certainly had more knowledge than the average person, but because of the grief so overwhelming you could never be sure you'd survive it. How many more deaths would she have to see, before her own? Too many, she thought. Always, too many.

The lawyer was already there when they arrived home. Patience waited no time in sinking into a seat across from the man and folding her hands in her lap. Patty sat down next to her and Patience put a hand on top of hers, patting it reassuringly.

"Hello, Mr. Michaels," Patience said to the lawyer. He nodded in return, and Patty felt a childlike urge to lay her head against her grandmother's shoulder.

Once everyone was seated, Mr. Michaels wasted no time. Almost immediately he launched into a speech; platitudes of sorrow for Phoebe's passing; what Phoebe had wanted with her will; how specific she had been. Patty found herself unable to concentrate entirely on what he was saying. He was only adding to the acute pain in Patty's heart that had been constant since Thanksgiving.

"I'm not going to read the entire will to you today," said Mr. Michaels. "For the most part, it's straightforward. An equally divided sum of money. Possessions to be sold or divided amongst the family. There are, however, a few specifics. I'll just read through them quickly, now." He cleared his throat. "'To Mr. Gordon Johnson, IV I leave my collection my entire library of books. To Mrs. Penelope Halliwell I will my good ballpoint pen, my collection of family letters, and my family tree. To Miss Patricia Halliwell I leave my journals,'" at this, Patience's hand tightened over Patty's, "'and to Mrs. Patience Johnson, I leave this letter.'" Mr. Michaels looked up from the will and nodded. "The collection of letters, the letter to Mrs. Johnson, and the journals are all in my possession and I am ready to give them to you today."

"What?" said Patience faintly.

"She asked that you read the letter now, Mrs. Johnson. She says you'll understand when you do."

Patty looked at her grandmother curiously, and then directed her attention back to Mr. Michaels, who opened his briefcase and removed the aforementioned items. He handed the journals to Patty, who fingered them lovingly. There were nine of them, in total, each crafted of plain black leather.

"Mrs. Johnson," said Mr. Michaels. "Your letter."

"Thank you," said Patience, her voice scarcely more than a whisper. She was staring at the journals as hard as Patty was.

"Once again, I'm very sorry for your loss," said Mr. Michaels. "I'll be in contact, of course." He shook his head. "I'll show myself out." And to Patty's relief, he was gone.

"Aren't you going to open the letter, Grandma?" asked Gordie.

Patience looked up at him. "Oh, um, yes, I suppose." She undid the envelope and opened the letter; Patty tried her hardest not to stare as her grandmother read, though it became harder and harder as Patience's calm facade dissolved into tears. When she finally folded the letter again, Penny wasted no time in coming over to the sofa and pulling her mother into a hug. Patty stood and walked away to give them room.

"Mom, do you want to go upstairs and lie down in my room for awhile?" asked Penny.

Patience simply continued to cry.

"Come on, Mom," said Penny. "It's been a long day."

With Gordon's help, Penny escorted Patience from the room, leaving Patty and Gordie alone.

"Are you okay?" asked Gordie.

Patty shook her head. "Not really. How about you?"

"I feel like crap," he said. He leaned back against the wall. "I miss her a lot, and she hasn't even been gone a week."

"It doesn't really get better," said Patty. "At least it didn't with my dad."

Gordie smiled a little, sadly or ironically, Patty couldn't tell. "Yeah. It didn't with my mom either."

"Gordie," said Gordon, reappearing in the room. Even his voice sounded hoarse. "Let's go home, son. Grandma's going to stay here tonight."

Gordie nodded. "See you, Patty," he said.

"Bye, Gordie," said Patty.

Her uncle inclined his head towards her, and then they were gone and Patty was alone.

She sank down on the couch and cried.

* * *

It wasn't until two days later that Patty felt well enough to open Phoebe's journals. Her mom had taken Patience home that morning, and was now puttering around in the kitchen, trying to keep her hands busy. Patty, though, needed to occupy her mind, and, as painful as it would be, she knew exactly where she wanted to start. She opened the journal dated 1923-1925, and flipped through until the found the exact date she needed.

_February 17, 1924_

_We vanquished Penelope today. We. Vanquished. Penelope. Lord, I can't fathom that I'm even writing these words. I can hardly breath. I can't believe what we did._

_Patience was violently ill all night. I feel ill. I feel...numb._

_We had to do it though! She brought that evil warlock into our home. She let him corrupt her. She was evil. We wanted to believe the best of her, Patience and I, but it had to be done. It had to. God, how will I ever forgive myself for this?_

_The warlock and Penelope came in today and began killing, throwing fire...we had no choice. And I can't believe we weren't better prepared; Penelope almost triumphed. That horrible, evil being, he disguised himself as Arnold, and approached Patience. I'm shocked he wasn't able to kill her. Patience hasn't been right in her mind since everything that happened with Arnold._

Patty's eyes widened. Arnold? What in the world? Who the hell was Arnold? Quickly she began to flip back through the pages, and entry after entry mentioned the same name. Finally, though, she found the first one.

_April 3, 1923_

_Today was undeniably the most shocking, amazing, miraculous day of my entire life. No one would ever have guessed this would happen; it's too fantastic. Today, Arnold came back!_

_I was out sweeping the front steps and Patience was in the house. Thank the Lord, Gordon was out. I can't fathom what his reaction might have been. In any case, I was sweeping when I noticed someone standing across the street, just staring at me. It was a disconcerting feeling, so I glanced up, and there was Arnold. I would have known him anywhere. Still, it was impossible, so I thought maybe I was wrong, when he crossed the street and plain as day said, 'Hello, Phoebe.'_

_I had to lean onto the broom for support; I confess, I have never been closer to fainting dead away in my life, and I've seen many shocking things. Could he be a ghost? I thought, but no, he was corporeal and real and so very alive. 'Arnold,' I said. 'What are you doing here? How are you here? You were dead!'_

_'I was never dead. It was just reported I was. I-' And then he stopped talking and just stared behind my shoulder. I turned to see and, of course, it was Patience; she had come outside to ask me something. Seeing Arnold was even worse for her; she fainted right there in the doorway and within seconds both Arnold and I were at her side, bringing her into the house._

_Once we revived her, Patience sat up, grasping my arm, practically clawing it. She was so pale and I really did think she might faint again. 'Arnold,' she said. 'Is it really you?'_

_'Yes,' said Arnold. 'God, Patience. I didn't think I'd ever see you again.'_

_And then Patience echoed my same questions and Arnold explained everything. He told us that he was wounded, badly, near the end of the war, and, in fact, fell into a coma. He was rushed to a hospital in France, but they could not revive him. He remained there until December 1921! 1921, it's astonishing! When he finally awoke he was so far gone from any semblance of fitness; he told us it took him another year to relearn everything; how to walk, how to write, everything. And then he found out that he had been reported dead, incorrectly, to his family in the states. It's like something out of a novel, but I swear it's true. By this point, Patience was crying; I think I may have been too. Lord. So he finally got back to America early this year. He stopped and visited his aunt; his mother died during the war, and it was only then that he found out, poor darling. And while he was there, (and here he could not look at Patience) he discovered that Patience had married Gordon. He told us he debated for a long time whether or not to come visit, or to just let Patience live in ignorance of his person, and finally he decided he simply had to come._

_Patience, bless her heart, said, 'Lord, Arnold. Of course you should have come! I missed you so much!' And she threw her arms around him, clutching onto him as though the pair would blow away. By now, Arnold too was crying. It was heart wrenching and horrible._

_Then, before anything else could be said, the front door opened and we heard Gordon's voice. Patience panicked, threw herself away from Arnold, and froze everything. Then she unfroze Arnold and said, 'Please, Arnold, Gordon's home and I can't even begin to explain this. Please, can you just...' And Arnold nodded sadly and said, 'Of course, Patience. I understand.' So she escorted him to the back door (Patience told me later that he told her the name of the hotel he was staying at) and then returned and unfroze Gordon._

_We made up some insipid reason that we were crying, of course, and Gordon believed us. He has no inkling of the truth._

_And now Patience is out. She went to Arnold's hotel to meet him, and I cannot say what will happen next. My mind is still reeling. I can't imagine what Patience is going through; she loved Arnold so much and now he's returned. This is too much. Too much._

Patty shook her head, her mind reeling as much as Phoebe's had been, so many years ago. She'd never heard so much as a whisper about Arnold. But here he was, mentioned clear as day in Phoebe's journal. What in the world. Quickly, Patty turned the page, eager for more.

_April 8, 1923_

_Patience has been meeting with Arnold every day since he came to the manor, but I have not seen him again at our home. I know she hasn't told Gordon about it, and I don't know what to make of the situation. I asked Patience, mincing no words, if she was having an affair with Arnold, but she told me they weren't. She said all they have been doing is talking. But I can see the pain in her eyes; whether it is the pain of lying to me, or the pain of lying to Gordon, or the pain of knowing that she wants to be with Arnold when she never can be, I do not know. If only Arnold had come home from the war earlier. Patience and Gordon have scarcely been married a year; this all could have been circumvented._

_I have no idea if Patience will be able to remain faithful to her husband and her vows of marriage. She is the most single-mindedly devoted woman I know, but she was devoted to Arnold first. She promised to wed him first. Can what she promised Gordon mean anything compared to that?_

Grandma was going to marry Arnold? Patty could hardly breath. This explained everything. Why there was so much more to the pain she could see in her grandmother every day.

_I'm very worried for my cousin. Oh, if only Penelope was here. Perhaps she would know what to do, how to reach Patience. I am at my wits end with worry._

_April 17, 1923_

_I can scarcely believe it. Patience, my dear, faithful cousin, is having an affair! I did worry so that this would happen. I can't even imagine what will happen if Gordon discovers the truth. Thank goodness he is so hopelessly naive when it comes to anything involving Patience. He's practically blind to her actions._

_I wrote Penelope yesterday, asking her to please stop playing the ex-patriot and return to the states. She knew of Arnold and Patience's relationship even better than I did. Perhaps she can help Patience come to her senses. For the life of me, I cannot think of how to help._

_In other news, I got word from home today. Mother wrote to tell me about Arnold and to warn me that he might come by. Maybe she thought I could circumvent a reunion between the star-crossed lovers. Alas, though, it was not meant to be._

_She also sent word that Margaret has returned from the east coast and looks forward to seeing me sometime soon, she hopes. I would love that. I've missed Margaret greatly. Perhaps Landon and I can drive up to see her sometime. It would help me to get my mind away from Patience's problems._

_I do hope Penelope agrees to come home._

_May 12, 1923_

_Penelope says she will not cut her trip short simply because Patience has had such a good turn of fortune. Good turn of fortune, she says! How can this be so? Now my dear cousin is torn between two loves (though I must confess, only guilt seems to fuel any emotion toward Gordon. All her love seems directed toward her lover). Penelope claims that Patience was always meant to be with Arnold, and if fate has finally brought them together, so be it. She also noted that scandal was something Patience needed to experience, at least once in her life, and what better way than a divorce if she was guaranteed to still marry her true love._

_All of it is nonsense, except for one point she made toward the end. 'If only Patience hadn't been directed not to marry Arnold when he proposed, then she would now be doubly wed and able to leave Gordon for Arnold with nothing more than a migraine for her problems.' Lord, in retrospect I do wish she had married Arnold before the war._

_I suppose, though, that if this is how Penelope feels, than it is better that she doesn't come home until August. The last thing Patience needs is that sort of moral guidance._

Patty set down the journal, trembling over the words she had read. Could this really all be true? Somehow, she knew instinctively that it was. But clearly her grandmother never took Penelope's advice. She hadn't divorced her grandfather, which meant she must have ended things with Arnold. But how? And when? Without much thought, Patty began to flip through the pages, her eyes flying for any sign of a breakup. Finally, she found it.

_September 24, 1923_

_Patience has been crying all day. So much that she has taken ill and remained in bed. Gordon is beside himself with worry, which only adds to Patience's source of tears. For those tears, though, I cannot help be feel it is the least she can do. She has chosen not to take either my advice or Penelope's and insists on leaving Gordon in the dark regarding her relationship with Arnold._

_At least Arnold has stayed away; Patience was correct when she said he would cause no problems for her. I simply cannot help but feel sorry for the entire lot of them, though. Arnold, alone and lost, yet again. Gordon, betrayed and ignorant. And poor Patience, torn between two loves. It is for the best though, I think, that she broke it off with Arnold. They were clearly never meant to be._

_Oh, Landon is here. I wonder what in the world he needs at this time of day._

_---_

_Heavenly Lord, I should know by now that when things seem bad for us that it will always manage to become worse. Terribly, terribly worse._

_Landon came by to tell me that they found Arnold's body in the bay today. They found his car there too, and they're not sure if it was an accident or a suicide._

_What am I going to tell Patience? She'll never forgive herself, and she'll never believe it was an accident._

_Lord, help me._

_September 30, 1923_

_I've decided to remain buttoned up about Arnold's death. Landon and I discussed it and we decided that there is no reason to turn Patience's world upside-down again. Finally, today, she got out of bed._

_I went to the funeral with Landon, and we begged Mother, Margaret, Mrs. McKee, and Arnold's aunt to remain closed mouthed about it to Patience. This will be a secret I take to the grave if I can help it._

_Will life ever be normal again?_

Patty set down the journal, slowly, and shook her head. She wondered if her grandmother had ever found out the truth about Arnold. Perhaps Phoebe would have mentioned it somewhere else if she had, but Patty could think of nothing now but talking to her grandma. Without another thought in her mind, she climbed out of bed, shoved on her shoes, and headed to her grandmother's house. She was going to get answers, tonight.


	24. Truth

_**Chapter Twenty-Three: Truth**_

_

* * *

It was the night I learned that love may not conquer all, but it deserves a chance to at least try.__

* * *

_

Patty pounded on her grandmother's front door, anticipation and anxiety raging a war within her stomach. She had no idea what she was going to say or how her grandmother would react, but what she did know was that she was meant to know find out the truth about her grandmother's past. It was fate. Whether it was for her own benefit or so someone could share in the secret her grandmother had held inside for so many years, Patty didn't know, but it was surely destiny that Phoebe had given her the journals.

The door swung open and Gordon looked down at her in surprise. "Patricia," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to Grandma," said Patty, slipping past her uncle and into the house. "And please don't give me a lecture about it, because it's important. To me and her."

Gordon regarded her, hands crossed over his chest. "It's fine," he finally said. "She could actually use some company, I think. She's been locked in her room ever since she got home. Just, please don't upset her."

Patty forced herself to nod, pretty sure that it was a lie, because, of course, how could her grandmother not get upset? Gordon didn't need to know that though. "Thanks," she said, and she turned and hurried up the stairs to her grandmother's room. Outside the door she knocked quietly. "Grandma," she said. "It's Patty. Can I come in?"

There was a long pause before Patty finally heard an affirmative reply, and she turned the knob and opened the door, slipping inside and closing it firmly behind her. Her grandmother was sitting in her bed in a pair of loud flannel pajamas with her hair down, looking impossibly young and vulnerable. For a moment nausea overwhelmed Patty, and she considered just abandoning her quest for answers, but before she could do anything, her grandmother said, "So you've read Phoebe's journals, correct?"

Patty nodded and cleared her throat. "Some of them," she said. "Well, really, just one of them. And only a few entries."

Patience nodded, and clasped her hands overtop of the book she had been reading. She looked nervous, her brown eyes large and sad, her bottom lip tucked in between her teeth. Then she sighed. "So I guess you didn't start at the beginning," she said.

"No," said Patty. She pulled out the chair at her grandmother's vanity and sat down in it, facing her grandmother at eye level. "I started with February 17, 1924."

"I never read Phoebe's journals," said Patience, not looking at Patty. "I can only imagine what they mentioned. So if you want to say something, Patty, you'll just have to come out and say it."

"You were in love with someone other than Grandpa," said Patty, trying to soften her voice. "Arnold."

"Hmm," said Patience. "Yes. Arnold Karst."

"Grandma, please," said Patty. "Tell me what happened. You were engaged to him but you never married? Did you ever love Grandpa? What...I just...Please, tell me the truth about what happened. I want to hear it from you, not from a journal written by someone else."

Patience shook her head slightly and ran her hands through her hair. They were shaking, badly. "I've wanted to tell you, Patty," she said. "Especially since you turned down Victor's proposal, because I know-"

"How did you know that Victor proposed?" interrupted Patty. "I didn't even tell Mom."

"I gave him the ring," said Patience. "It was my ring from Arnold, not from your grandfather. And then he tried to return it on Thanksgiving, so I knew you had said no, and then I thought that maybe if you knew the truth..."

"That was your ring?" said Patty. She rubbed a hand over her forehead. Already this was more complicated than she had ever believed. "Why give me your ring from Arnold?" she asked. "Why not from Grandpa?"

"Because," said Patience, "Arnold was my first love. He was my first destiny. And I know Victor is yours too. I don't want you to lose that, Patty, unless it's for a good reason. I know all too well what regret is."

"You regret not leaving Grandpa for Arnold?" said Patty.

Patience let out a shuddery breath. "Sometimes" said Patience. "But I wouldn't have your mother or Gordon or you and Gordie if I had left him. And there are other things I do regret. I regret not marrying Arnold before the war. I regret letting other people talk me into things that I shouldn't have done. I regret having the affair with Arnold." She finally looked up at Patty. "I made so many mistakes over the years, Patty. And I don't want to see anyone make the same ones. Do you really want to hear this story?"

"Yes," said Patty. "All of it."

Patience nodded. "I met Arnold the summer of 1915. Penelope and I and a few of our friends drove upstate to visit Phoebe. That was before she moved to San Francisco to live with us. She had a party before we left, and that's where I met Arnold. I liked him immensely from the start, but we drove home the next day, and I didn't expect to see him again. The following spring, though, he showed up at my house one day and said he had moved to San Francisco; he had a job and was doing well and he wanted to look me up. So we started going together.

"A year later, we got involved in the war in Europe, and of course Arnold decided to enlist. He proposed to me the same night, and we were set to wed before he left, but my parents convinced me that we should wait. They thought that the time apart might change our feelings for each other, and that we had only known each other for a short time in the first place. I was so stupid. I chose to listen to them. And Arnold said he understood. He asked me to promise to wait for him, no matter what.

"The war was over before I even got the news that Arnold had died in combat. I had been so relieved to hear that Germany surrendered, and then so soon afterwards Arnold's aunt called on me to tell me that Arnold had been killed. I was beside myself. I stayed in bed for two months; I didn't see anyone but the family. It was terrible. The worst time in my life.

"And then I realized that I had to go on. I couldn't give up just because Arnold had died. So I became more active again. I met Gordon in the spring of 1921, about a two and a half after Arnold's death, and I really was fond of him. I didn't think I would ever be able to love another man again. And while I didn't love Gordon the way I had loved Arnold, I did have feelings for him. He proposed not long after we became acquainted, but I said no. I didn't want to marry him when I still loved Arnold. He proposed again and again, and I said no twice more before I finally agreed.

"The really horrific part, is that I agreed mostly because of familial pressure. My mother had died a few years before, and my father was old. He wanted to see me married before he died. And Phoebe thought it was for the best too. She was convinced it was the only way I'd get over Arnold and move on. So I agreed to marry him for all the wrong reasons.

"My father died soon after that, so we postponed the date of the wedding. We finally married on February 28, 1922. And for a little while I was happy. Gordon was so good to me. I didn't deserve him. And then everything fell apart so fast. Penelope decided to go to Europe and she was never the same again after that. I miscarried a baby that fall. And then the next spring Arnold came back.

"I never felt as guilty as I did when I saw Arnold that day. There he was, in the flesh, never giving up on us, and there I had married someone else while he was gone. I broke my promise. I didn't wait for him. I should have had more faith. And marrying Gordon hadn't magically cured me of any feelings I had for Arnold. I loved him so much, it was overwhelming. Intense. Somehow I convinced myself that because I had promised Arnold first, because I had loved him first, that my marriage vows weren't sacred. And so, yes, we had an affair. It lasted five months, and finally we both realized something had to change. Arnold wanted me to do what I felt was right; I know deep down that he wanted me to leave Gordon and go away with him, but I was more and more realizing the significance of what I had promised Gordon by marrying him. He knew I was distant that summer, and he tried so hard to make me happy; to bring me back. I began to feel guilty over my actions. So finally I told Arnold we had to end it.

"Arnold said that we should do that if it's what I thought was best. We agreed never to see one another again. We were both heartbroken, though. I was miserable about everything in my life, for months afterwards. And it was magnified by Penelope's betrayal. She became more and more wild as time went on, and it all culminated when we vanquished her. I was depressed. I didn't think anything could ever make me happy again. I felt that way for a long time, until your mother was born. She was the first good thing in my life for a very long time.

"After your grandfather died, though, I decided to look up Arnold. I had to. I knew that most likely he was married and settled, but I thought maybe there was a chance...

"And that's when I discovered that he had died, just days after we broke up. I...It...It was all my fault, I'm sure. The war had scarred him so much, and then I hurt him even more. It was very likely a suicide, or if not, an accident caused by blinding pain. Phoebe had known about it, and she tried her best to convince me that it wasn't my fault, but I was positive that it was. I'm still positive. And there are days that it's so painful I can't breath." Patience paused, tears streaming down her face, her breathing labored.

"God, I loved him so much," she said. "We were soul mates, Patty. I truly believe it. And someday we'll have a second chance." She shook her head. "And now you know the truth. Phoebe was the only other person who ever knew. I'm sorry."

"Grandma," began Patty.

"Wait!" said Patience. "Patty, if there is anything you take away from this, I want you to realize that love is the most important thing in the world. You have to do anything for it. Never give up on it, and never let it go. I did both, and I've regretted it every day of my life. So even if you don't love Victor, although I think you do, please, please promise me that you'll follow your heart. Don't let doubts or fear overrule it."

"Grandma..."

"Promise me, Patty!"

Patty nodded. "All right, Grandma. I promise."

Patience smiled weakly. "Thank you," she said.

"Grandma," said Patty again, after a moment. "I'm really sorry about Arnold." She stood up and crawled onto the bed with her grandmother, hugging her tightly while Patience sobbed into her shoulder.

* * *

Someone was knocking at the door, loudly. Obnoxiously. Victor rolled over in bed and squinted at his alarm clock. It read 4:42. What the hell was someone doing at his door at this time of night? 

Annoyed, Victor climbed out of bed and padded across the apartment, yanking open the door and blinking in a sleepy daze. Almost immediately, though, he snapped out of it. Standing in front of him was Patty, looking a mess with her hair in a lopsided ponytail, wearing baggy clothes and a pair of sneakers. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, Patty stood on her tiptoes, snaked her arms around his neck, and kissed him, hard.

When she pulled back she tugged on his hand and led him into the apartment. "We need to talk," she said. And Victor tried to maintain his senses as he shut the door behind him.


	25. Conquest

_**Chapter Twenty-Four: Conquest**_

_

* * *

It was finally time to let destiny run its course.

* * *

_

Victor leaned back against the door and watched Patty as she darted away from him, then swung around to face him. The confidence she had exuded just moments before seemed to be slipping away so quickly he wasn't quite certain he'd seen it. Her hyperactive energy, though, didn't change; it merely transformed into a nervous buzz.

"Victor," she said, "I've been thinking a lot the past few weeks."

"I've been drinking a lot," said Victor. He crossed his arms over his chest and waited for her to continue, forcing himself not to make this any easier for her than he should. If she finally wanted to talk after stomping all over his heart, she very well could. But he wouldn't be of any comfort.

Patty looked toward the ceiling, then down at her hands, which she twisted together. "My aunt Phoebe died on Thanksgiving," said Patty. "No, wait, I shouldn't start there."

For his part, Victor felt like he had taken a blow to the stomach. He had liked Phoebe, in the little time he'd known her, and he had been there on Thanksgiving. God, was she dead when he had come over? He tried to recall the scene as best he could, but had trouble thinking of Patience's manner. But, she hadn't been upset, had she? He shook his head and swallowed the lump in his throat. Patty seemed oblivious to his internal debate, and continued.

"I have been so afraid of falling in love, Victor," she said. "With anyone. And when you came along I fell for you much more quickly than I would have ever thought possible, but I just couldn't admit it to myself. I was scared out of my mind."

She took a deep breath, and he could tell she was struggling to hold back her tears. But he was still battling with his own emotions, and felt almost dizzy with sensory overload.

"My dad died two years ago and I really miss him," she said. "It happened so suddenly. And I think it changed me. Made me afraid. I don't ever want to lose someone the way I lost him. If I were really with you, Victor, I could lose you." She swiped at her tears with the back of her hand. "And you don't even really know me," she said. "How can you want to marry me? And when you find out who I really am, how do I know you won't walk out of the door?"

"I know who you really are, Patty," said Victor, his voice cracking. The lump in his throat was swelling and he wasn't sure he'd get through this without crying too. "Maybe I don't know every detail of your life, or even your personality, but I know who you are."

Patty shook her head, and the tears came down even faster. Neither of them approached the other, though. "Even if that were true," she said, "it might not work. And I was really scared about that. I'm still really scared about that. But I was talking to my grandma tonight, and I found out things I never...Victor, she was scared too, and she gave up the love of her life. And I can't...I just..." She started to sob harder, straining to control her speech. "I won't do the same thing she did. I can't just give you up because I'm scared."

In three strides, Victor made it to Patty and pulled her into his arms, cradling her into his body as tightly as he could. She clutched onto his shirt, leaning into him, crying. Slowly, he sank to the floor, taking her with him.

"I'm not going to give you up that easily, Patty. We can get through life, even if we have to fight every step of the way."

Patty pulled back and he reached up, smoothing her hair away from her face. "You say that now," she said. "But what about a year from now? Or ten years from now?"

"No matter what happens," said Victor, "I'll love you until the day I die. You'll never lose that promise, even if the world comes to and end. Even if everything falls apart."

She kissed him, quickly, and pulled back, resting her forehead against his. "I love you too," she said. "I really do. And I don't want to be afraid anymore."

Victor nodded and leaned up and kissed her forehead before sliding her off of his lap and onto the floor. "Then you've got to try to have faith in us," he said, standing. "You've got to give us a chance." She looked up at him, eyes red and puffy, but didn't say anything. She just watched him go into his bedroom and come back out with the same ring box he'd had before. Slowly, he knelt back down next to her and took her hand.

"Patty," he said. "I meant everything I've said, every moment that I've known you. And if you really don't want to take this step right now, I can accept that." He opened the box and took a shaky breath. "But I'm going to ask you again right now. Will you marry me?"

Patty was breathing hard, still shaken from the crying, but she nodded her head. "Yes," she said, almost gasping the word and about to tear up again. "I will marry you."

Victor let out a sob that was half a laugh and took the ring from the box, slipping it onto Patty's finger. Then he kissed her as hard as he could. "Just promise me one thing," he said once he had broken the kiss.

"What?"

"Promise me that you won't give up on us either."

Patty nodded. "Yes, I promise. I won't give up."

And she kissed him again.

* * *

Patty woke up next to Victor and blinked at the harsh light coming in through the window. Sitting up, she leaned over Victor's chest and glanced at the clock; ten o'clock. She sighed loudly and flopped back against the pillow. Her mother was going to kill her once she knew Patty was safe. Reluctantly, she slipped out of the bed and began to gather her clothes off of the floor. Victor rolled over and groaned. 

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Home," said Patty. "I've been gone since yesterday night. My mother is probably going crazy."

"Call her and come back to bed," said Victor.

"If I do that you'll be dealing with her in person. She'll be over here faster than you can say 'castrate.'"

Victor chuckled. "Fine then," he said. "Can you come back tonight?"

"No, I'm working," said Patty.

"After that."

Patty smiled to herself and pulled her shirt over her head to hide it from Victor. "Maybe."

"I guess I can accept that answer." He sat up a little and Patty came over and gave him a quick kiss, which he tried unsuccessfully to prolong.

"I'll definitely call you to tell you how she takes the news," said Patty. "And to warn you if she decides to come after you."

"Thanks," said Victor.

Patty kissed him again and then pulled away, heading quickly for the door. If she didn't get out of there immediately, she'd never get up the nerve to go home. As it was she wasn't confident that she should be telling her mother anything, but she and Victor had both agreed that the sooner they told their parents, the better, especially since they had decided to get married so soon.

"I really don't want a long engagement," Victor had said at dawn, holding her against his chest, and Patty had quietly agreed, even suggesting elopement as the alternative to giving their parents' time to plan something too elaborate. Victor had told her that his mother would never forgive them, though, and so instead they had agreed to simply set a date as soon as possible.

"January?" asked Patty, and Victor had nodded, kissing the top of her head.

"See how well this is working already," he'd responded. "If we're this in sync about the wedding, then the marriage should be a piece of cake."

* * *

Patty opened the back door and crept into the house, wondering if there was even a slight chance her mother hadn't noticed she had been gone all night. Maybe she could just sneak up to her room and pretend she had just woken up. It was a Saturday, after all. 

She took off her shoes and slipped as silently as she could towards the stairs, only to be stopped almost immediately by her mother's commanding voice.

"Patricia Halliwell," said Penny, and Patty turned to see her mother standing in the doorway to the living room with her arms crossed. "I have been worried sick. Where have you been?"

"I was at Grandma's house," said Patty. She stood up as tall as she could and looked her mother square in the eye. "And then I was at Victor's."

Penny raised one eyebrow and Patty tried not to cave in. "I see," said Penny. "And you didn't have the decency to call and tell me you hadn't been killed?"

"I...We..." Patty spluttered. "Victor and I are getting married. In January."

For the first time in her life, Patty thought her mother might use telekinesis to throw her across the room, and she braced herself for the inevitable blow. Instead, her mother said, "Have you completely lost your mind?"

"No," said Patty. "I think for the first time I'm doing something right."

Penny shook her head, nearly shaking with anger and frustration. "Patty, you're nineteen, and I know you think you'll all grown up, but let me tell you this instant, you are not ready for marriage."

"You may not think so, Mom," said Patty. "And who knows. Maybe you're right. But you've also been telling me for years that I need to follow my heart, and I finally am. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Not when you're throwing your life away!" said Penny. "My God, Patty. I thought I had raised you with more sense."

"Please," said Patty, willing herself not to cry or yell. "Please, Mom, just try to be happy for me. Because I'm telling you right now, I'm marrying Victor, and there's nothing you can do to stop me."

There was silence, and Penny looked as though she wanted to argue more. Instead, she said, "Fine, Patty. Do what you want. But I don't think any good will come of this." And with that, she stalked away towards the kitchen, leaving Patty alone.


	26. Announcement

_**Chapter Twenty-Five: Announcement**_

_

* * *

It was odd, how similar people's reactions were.

* * *

_

Penny called her mother as soon as she left Patty, and while the phone was ringing, tried to calm herself down enough to not explode. After all, her mother was old and still upset about Phoebe's death; she didn't need yelling on top of it. If Penny found out her mother was involved in any way, though, with Patty's ridiculous announcement, then all reason would be out the window.

"Hello?" said Gordie, after the third ring.

"Gordie, it's Aunt Penny," she said. "I need to speak to your grandmother."

"Oh boy," said Gordie, and Penny wondered if any of her attempt to take the anger out of her voice had worked. "Hold on a second. Grandma!" she heard him yell right after. "Grandma! Aunt Penny's on the phone and she wants to talk to you!" There was a pause, and then she heard Gordie say, "I think you're in trouble."

A second later, her mother was on the phone. "Penny?"

"Mom," said Penny tightly, "Patty just came home with some surprising news. She and Victor are getting married."

"Really?" said Patience, not sounding extremely shocked. "That's wonderful."

"No, Mom, it's not wonderful. She's nineteen!"

"She's in love."

Penny rolled her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. "She mentioned something I thought was kind of weird though," she said. "She told me that she went to see you last night before she went over to Victor's. You didn't tell her to go over there, did you?"

"No, dear, I didn't."

"You didn't imply that she should get engaged or talk about making a commitment to a man she's only known for a few months?"

"All I told her," said Patience, "was to follow her heart."

"Mom!" said Penny, any semblance of grace flying out of the window. "She's nineteen. Nineteen! She shouldn't be following her heart, she should be following her head. She's too young to know what she wants."

"Penelope," said Patience, sounding more collected than Penny ever remembered, "you have to calm down. Patty is extremely practical. More so than you ever were. You have to start trusting her. If she knows that this is what she wants than let her do it. What's the worst that can happen?"

"The worst that can happen? She could end up hurt. Or alone. Or pregnant and abandoned."

"If she ends up hurt or alone, we'll be there to help her through it. If she ends up pregnant and Victor leaves her, then we'll help her through that too. No matter what, she always has family to come back to," said Patience. "You've got to remember that, Penny. She's never alone unless you choose to leave her. You're her mother."

Penny sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I just don't want her to go through any pain," she said. She felt deflated; defeated. It was unusual for her, and she didn't particularly like it.

"Pain is a part of life," said Patience. "She'll deal with it. And who knows. Maybe she and Victor will last."

"And maybe the underworld will renounce evil," said Penny. She shook her head. "But fine, Mom. You're...right."

"Thank you," said Patience. "I won't even make you repeat it for the record. Now go talk to Patty before this escalates out of proportion like your last argument."

"Fine," said Penny. "I'll talk to you later."

"Goodbye," said Patience, and the phone clicked off on the other end. Slowly, Penny put down the phone and then headed up to Patty's room to try to repair the damage.

"Patty," she said, knocking on the door. "Sweetheart, can I come in?"

"Yeah," said Patty.

Penny opened the door and entered the room to find Patty lying on her bed, staring up at the ceiling. She looked so childlike that Penny had to pause for a moment and reaffirm her mother's words in her mind. "Patty," she said, sitting down on the edge of her daughter's bed, "I'm sorry about what happened downstairs."

Patty laughed derisively. "Uh huh," she said.

"I am," said Penny. "I shouldn't have reacted that way. You're right. You're...an adult...now, and if you want to get married that's your choice, not...mine."

"Are you being serious?" asked Patty, rolling over onto her side and looking up at Penny.

"Yes," said Penny. "What I think...doesn't...matter. You should do what you want. I won't get in your way."

"Are you feeling okay, Mom?" asked Patty. "You don't sound like yourself."

Penny shook her head. "Don't push your luck, young lady. I just had a very enlightening phone call with my mother, but my having an open mind only goes so far. Remember that."

Patty smiled, and then looked down at her bedspread. "I'm sorry if I just sprung this on you," she said. "I just feel like getting married is the right thing to do. That being with Victor is the right thing."

"Okay," said Penny. "I can understand that, I guess. But why does it have to be in January? It's so soon, Patty."

"It's something in my gut," said Patty, looking more serious than Penny had even seen her. "Something big is going to happen, I can feel it."

Penny nodded, slowly. "Alright then," she said. "January it is. Heaven help me."

Patty laughed, and Penny couldn't help but crack a smile. It had been too long since she'd seen her daughter even remotely happy.

"Just promise me one thing, though," she said.

"What?" asked Patty.

"Keep your last name."

* * *

John was the name of Susan's latest conquest; a good looking guy with a nice smile and a passion for civil rights, including male-female equality. She had met him during one of her classes that semester, and they had been dating for about a month. Currently, John had his tongue down her throat and a hand up her shirt, and Susan was loving every second of it. Unfortunately, her phone began to ring with the utmost persistency just as John began to unhook her bra.

"Shit," said Susan. "Hold on a minute."

"Susie, no," said John as she pulled away from him, reaching over and grabbing her phone. He settled back against the bed and watched her, his eyes dark.

"Hello?" said Susan, ignoring John's protests.

"Hey, Susan. It's Patty." Susan grinned and swatted John's hand away from her arm.

"Hey, Patty," she said, turning to John and shaking her head. "What's up? You burn down Buddy's yet?"

"Actually, I have some big news," said Patty.

John's hand crept up the back of her shirt and started fooling with her bra again. Susan whipped around, saying, "Hold on a second," to Patty, and then, "Jesus, John. I'm on the phone. Chill out." She heaved a sigh and directed her attention back to the phone. "Sorry about that," she said. "What's your big news?"

"Well," said Patty, sounding nervous. "I'm getting married. In January."

"What?" said Susan, standing up so fast she nearly hit her head off of the top of the bunked bed. "To who?"

"Victor Bennett," said Patty. "You remember him, right? From that day at Buddy's. Before you left for school."

"Fuck, Patty," said Susan. "The last time I talked to you it was going to be one date, remember? What the hell happened?"

"I don't know. We fell in love. I fell in love," she said.

"This is huge!" said Susan. "Christ. And in January?"

"Yeah," said Patty. "Look, Susan, I really want you to be my maid of honor. Please. I promise the dress won't be that goofy looking."

"Of course I'll do it," said Susan. "God, I need a cigarette. Did your mother have an aneurism?"

"Almost," said Patty. "But my grandma talked some sense into her apparently."

"Wow. I...Well...Wow. Congratulations," she said, finally finding her cigarettes and pulling one out.

"Thanks," said Patty. "And thanks for not going ballistic."

"Me, go ballistic? Why would you think that?" She lit the cigarette and took a long drag, instantly feeling slightly more calm.

"I don't know. I guess I just thought you'd be a little...skeptical."

"Yeah, well..." said Susan. "You gotta do what you gotta do. I guess. But seriously, Patty, promise me one thing."

"What?"

"Please keep your last name."


	27. Christmas

_**Chapter Twenty-Six: Christmas**_

_

* * *

I can still picture that Christmas in perfect clarity. It was the end of one chapter of my life, and the beginning of a new.

* * *

_

Despite the fact that his mouth was dry, Victor passed on the wine his father offered in order not to badger the knot in his stomach. The knot was ravaging around inside of him like a wild boar, and he didn't think alcohol would do anything to help matters. Across from him, his brother Robert accepted a glass, and quirked an eyebrow at Victor as if to say, "What crisis are you going to bring into the family now, little brother?"

Victor ignored him, concentrating all of his energy on not jiggling his legs, which would be a dead giveaway that he was nervous about something. His mother, thank God, was still in the kitchen, and his dad seemed oblivious to the fact that Victor didn't quite have his mind on his surroundings. Robert, of course, knew that something was up, but thankfully Nancy, who would have been able to pinpoint and drag information out of Victor in a heartbeat, had not shown up for Christmas dinner.

"Have either of you heard from your sister lately?" Ivan was asking as Victor finally tuned into the conversation again.

"A couple months ago," said Robert casually. "She and Lou were in Seattle playing at some club."

"She's well, Dad," added Victor, smiling for his father's sake. Nancy had been a wild child for as long as Victor could recall, but she had also been the apple of her father's eye. Her falling out with their mother had been so bad, though, that she hadn't been home in years. "I think she might be heading back south sometime soon."

"Hmm," said Ivan in a disinterested manner. In his mind though, Victor knew he squirreled away every bit of information they gave him.

"How's Uncle Michael?" asked Robert. "I haven't had a chance to see him since he was in the hospital."

"He's doing fine," said Ivan. "Nothing to worry about, as long as he takes it easy. Victor's been picking up the slack, no problem."

Victor nodded without hesitation. He had had no qualms about stepping forward a bit after Uncle Michael's heart attack. If anything, the extra money alone was worth it, especially now that he had Patty to consider too.

Patty.

His stomach lurched again, reminding him to stay focused on the problem at hand instead of being distracted by his family. During dinner he had to tell his family that he and Patty were going to be married. He knew that the news was going to drive his mother to hysterics, and perhaps a fainting spell when he told them that they planned on January tenth as a wedding date. She'd be sulky for the next few weeks, he knew, and probably even through the wedding, but at least it wouldn't be the catastrophe that Nancy's marriage had been.

"You okay, Victor?"

Victor looked up at his father and nodded, his mouth drawn in a tight line. Robert grinned and shook his head. "Here's to you, little brother," he said, and he raised his wine glass. Halfheartedly, Victor wondered if he was toasting to his health, or whatever intended self-inflicted funeral he knew Victor had planned.

Somehow, he thought it was probably the latter.

* * *

Dinner was served at five o'clock sharp in the formal dining room they rarely used. Sylvia had set out the finest china she owned on top of a crisp green tablecloth and had lit two long white candles for atmosphere. It was the same thing she'd been doing at Christmas dinner for as long as Victor could remember, and he stared at the layout dimly, wondering if he should just spit out his news or wait for dessert. 

"Potatoes, Victor?" asked his mom, and at the insistence of the beast inside of him, Victor shook his head and decided to bite the bullet before he starved.

"No, Mom, Dad, there's something I need to tell you."

Robert grinned from across the table and set down his knife and fork. "I'm all ears," he said. Victor glared at him.

"What is it, Victor?" asked his mom, helping herself to a slice of ham, oblivious that he was about to say anything life-changing.

"Well," he said, "you both remember Patty, right?"

Sylvia paused mid-cut and stared at her son, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Yes," Ivan answered calmly. "We do."

"Well, we're getting married."

Robert shook his head and turned back to the meat on his plate, picking up his fork and knife and cutting the meat into pieces. Both he and Victor had been fiercely webbed into the middle of Nancy's falling out with their mom, and Robert apparently had no intention of repeating the disaster.

"No you're not," said Sylvia. The words were calm, pleasant, but coated with poison.

"Yes we are," said Victor. "On January tenth."

Sylvia folded her arms and leaned back in her chair, jutting out her lower jaw, just as she always did before getting into a heated argument. Particularly when she was getting in for the long haul.

"Don't you think that's a little soon?" asked Ivan, intercepting whatever remark Sylvia was planning to make.

"No," said Victor. "We're in love, we discussed it, and we're ready. What's the point of a long engagement?"

"Victor," said Ivan softly, "you're only twenty. How can you know what you really want?"

"I just do," said Victor. "I mean, I can feel this all the way down to my bones. I have never been more certain of anything in my entire life. I know this is the right thing to do."

"That girl has poisoned you," said Sylvia. "She's probably been whispering words of marriage into your head from the beginning."

"It wasn't like that at all, Mom," Victor said. "She turned me down the first time I asked."

"Oh, so you're not good enough for her," his mom said, flipping the tables in the blink of an eye. "Does she think she's going to find better? She sounds fickle to me. You can't trust a fickle woman."

"Says the woman who changed her mind in two seconds flat," Robert muttered under his breath. He glanced briefly at Victor and took another bite of his ham.

"Sylvia," said Ivan, "I think you need to calm down and think about this rationally. Fighting is only going to make things worse."

"What do you mean, 'make things worse'?" snapped Victor. "Things weren't bad to begin with. Things were just great." He shook his head and unintentionally, the volume of his voice began to rise. "You people are never happy with anything we do. You never let us make our own choices, right or wrong. And it's going to end up costing you all of your kids."

"Victor Bennett," said Ivan, anger seeping into his voice for the first time. "Don't you dare speak to your mother or me like that."

"Why not?" asked Victor. "You two talk to us like that all the time. Why do you think Nancy left and hasn't come back? She hates this place."

Ivan slammed his silverware onto the table and shakily ran a hand through his thinning hair. "I said," he repeated, his voice low and dangerous, "that's enough. I understand that you may be...upset, but that doesn't give you the right to disrespect us."

Victor stared at his father, forcing his breathing to calm and focus, forcing his next words to come out even. "Then don't disrespect me," he said. "Please. Just come to the wedding. It's going to be at Patty's house. It's going to be very small. Just our families and a couple of friends. All you have to do is wear a smile for a few hours and pretend to be happy for us."

There was silence around the table except for the occasional squeak of Robert's knife across his plate. Finally, Sylvia broke it. "I will not accept this marriage, Victor," she said. "It will not end well, I know it. You'll save yourself a lot of regret if you end it now."

Victor looked at his mother, trying to see her, trying to understand, but he couldn't. He never had been able to.

"I'll send you an invitation anyway," he said, standing up and throwing his napkin down. "You can use it if you change your mind."

Without another word, he stalked out of the house.


	28. Family

_**Chapter Twenty-Seven: Family**_

_

* * *

The 1970s. The most influential, bizarre decade of my life.

* * *

_

"Where are you off to tonight?" asked Penny as Patty came into the living room. Patty was wearing a pretty blue dress and a pair of her mom's old knee-high boots. Her hair was piled loosely on top of her head.

"Cynthia's," said Patty. "She and Bill are having a party tonight." She glanced down at her watch. "Victor should be here any minute."

"Did you invite Cynthia to the...uh..."

"Wedding?" supplied Patty with a smirk. "Yes. She and Bill are coming, making a grand total of somewhere between ten and twenty guests."

"Between ten and twenty?" asked Penny. "The...wedding is ten days away. Shouldn't you know by now?"

Patty shrugged. "Victor told his family about it at Christmas and they had a bit of a fight. He's not sure if his parents are coming or not. And he's still trying to reach his sister. Plus Susan and Barry may be bringing dates. We kind of left things open ended."

Penny shook her head. "Heaven help you. I really wish you'd let me do more than give you away."

"You are, Mother," said Patty. "You're also keeping the entire affair demon free."

"Yes, well," said Penny with a flick of her wrist. "Someone has to."

The doorbell rang and Patty smiled widely. "That's Victor," she said. "I'll see you later, Mom." She blew Penny a kiss, and without another word, headed for the front door. She was really hoping that tonight would go well. Since Christmas, Victor had been withdrawn and upset. Not that Patty could blame him. Even if her mother hadn't decided to make amends and to respect her choice to marry Victor, she still would have come to the wedding. Victor didn't even know if his parents would show up.

Patty had decided that this party would be the perfect way to get Victor's mind off of his problems with his family, at least for one night. If nothing else, at least there would be no whirlwind wedding planning to spin him into a rant about his parents.

Picking up her purse, Patty opened the door and grinned at Victor, determined to be cheerful. "Hi," she said, leaning up and giving him a soft kiss.

"Hi," Victor said, managing a smile that actually reached his eyes. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," said Patty. "You clean up pretty well yourself."

"I try," said Victor. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yep," said Patty. She stepped outside into the chilly December night and shut the door behind her.

* * *

Victor knew that Patty was trying her hardest to bring his mood back to its usual level of optimistic pleasantness, but it simply wasn't working the way she hoped it would. Although he liked to consider himself a positive person, he couldn't help but feel his life dragging him down at times. It was absurd. Especially now, when he was less than two weeks away from marrying the woman of his dreams. 

Using the party as a distraction was a good idea in theory, but so many people kept asking about his and Patty's relationship to one another, and then asking for every detail of the wedding, that his mind kept drifting back to his problems with his parents. As a temporary reprieve, Victor headed to the kitchen to grab a beer.

The kitchen was deserted on arrival, but just seconds after he pulled a beer out of the large tub the Trudeaus had set out, the door swung open and Patty walked in.

"Hey," she said. "I came for a refill." She held up the glass of soda she'd been drinking and rattled the ice.

"Yeah, I'm getting a drink too," said Victor.

Patty smiled, and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the door opening again and Bill Trudeau walking in.

"Oh, hey," he said. "Having a good time."

"Great time," said Patty, popping the tab on her drink and pouring it into her glass.

"It's a good party," said Victor.

"Thanks. So," said Bill, popping the cap off of a beer bottle, "you and Patty are getting married."

"Yeah," said Victor. Patty came over and looped an arm around his waist. "January tenth."

Bill shook his head, taking a long drink. "God bless you, man. You're a hell of a lot braver than I am."

"What do you mean?" asked Victor. "You're married."

"Yeah," said Bill. "But it took me forever to work up the nerve to propose. And the engagement lasted a year because Cyndi's mom was sick. If I hadn't had that time to prepare. I mean, wow. Especially since Joey was born within a year after we were married."

Patty laughed. "I don't think we'll be having kids any time soon," she said.

"You never know," said Bill with a wink. "The miracle of life."

"Or the backhanded slap of destiny," muttered Patty. She raised her soda to Bill. "If it's meant to be..."

Bill nodded. "Exactly."

Victor nodded too, although his head felt foggy and he wasn't quite sure what Patty and Bill were talking about. Wasn't destiny some elusive, broad, wide-reaching idea? He'd always just considered children a part of the future; a joy many people experienced. Destiny made it seem so high handed. Maybe it was a religious thing. But Patty wasn't religious, and she spoke about destiny and fate all of the time. Befuddled, Victor shook his head and put down his beer, excusing himself from the conversation and slipping away. Suddenly he wanted to clear his head more than anything, so he quietly went outside.

Right before he'd left to pick Patty up for the party, his sister had finally returned one of the multiple phone calls he had made to her since Christmas. _Hey, little brother. Heard you were getting married. Congratulations and all that jazz. No, Lou and I won't be able to make it down for the wedding. _The disappointment had settled like a stone in his stomach, making him feel slightly ill. Desperately, unknown until that moment, he wanted a family. A real, genuine, united family. Like Patty's. God. Her immediate family had dwindled to just her and her mom and they were still held together by unbreakable chains. And he knew, no matter how much he was sure Penny Halliwell would get under his skin, he would never come between her and her daughter. He respected their bond entirely too much.

"Hey," said Patty, breaking his chain of thought. Her arms snaked around his torso from behind. "You disappeared in there."

"Sorry," said Victor. He took one of her hands and kissed it. "I needed to clear my head."

He felt Patty lean her head against his back and he reveled in the security it provided him. "You need to talk about anything?" she asked. The words reverberated in his chest.

"No," he said. "I'm okay. I just...I can't wait until we're married. Until we're a family."

"Me either," said Patty. She released her grip on him and came around so she was facing him. "You want to go back inside? It's almost mid-"

As if on cue, the people inside of the house began to count down from ten, chanting loudly and, most likely, slightly intoxicated.

Patty smiled and moved as though to go inside, but Victor caught her by the arm. "Just wait," he said.

"Three...two...one...Happy new year!"

"Happy new year," said Patty, looking up at him with incredibly warm, soft eyes.

"Happy new year, Patty," said Victor. He leaned down and kissed her. When he pulled back, Patty hugged him tightly.

"I've got a good feeling about nineteen seventy," she said. "Just wait and see."

"Yeah," said Victor. "Me too."


	29. Union

_**Chapter Twenty-Eight: Union**_

_

* * *

January 10, 1970. The day my daughter did exactly what she wanted and I, for once, didn't say a word.

* * *

_

Penny woke up the morning of January tenth with the weight of a stone in her stomach and a heavy heart. All night she had been tossing and turning, catching a smidgen of sleep here and there. Despite everything she has said to Patty, she felt slightly suffocated by the thought that this was the day of her only daughter's wedding.

It wasn't so much that she didn't think Victor was good enough for Patty (which he wasn't) or that Patty was only nineteen (still a baby) or that everything was going much too fast (which it was). No, it was more the fact that after today she was going to be alone in this house without her baby girl. The thought made her want to curl into a ball and not come out of the bedroom.

So that was the real truth. She wanted to be selfish. She wanted to keep Patty to herself and continue on the way things had been before Victor Bennett has waltzed into their lives. Penny swallowed hard. The real problem, she supposed, was that she knew she had to let Patty live her own life. She had to let her go. She wasn't sure if letting Patty make such a monumental mistake made her a terrible mother or a great one.

She sighed. Maybe–_maybe_–it wouldn't be as bad as she imagined. In fact, maybe it would be as amazing as her relationship with Allen had been.

But somehow she doubted it.

Glancing at the clock, Penny realized she had spent about as much time as she could wallowing for the day. There were things to do and time to spend with Patty before she gone, gone, gone...

Penny pushed off the covers, forced a smile and headed to the bathroom to get a shower.

One she was showered and dressed, she went to Patty's room, opening the door quietly and peeking at her daughter. Patty was still asleep, sprawled on her stomach, one arm above her head and the other hanging off the side of the bed. Penny swallowed the lump in her throat and went over to the bed, perching on the edge of it.

"Patty," she said, stroking Patty's hair. "Patty, it's time to get up."

"Mmm," said Patty, rolling onto her side, away from Penny.

"Patty," Penny prompted again, "you need to get up and start getting ready. It's already nine o'clock. The wedding starts at one."

That got a better response. Patty rolled onto her back, eyes open, blinking sleepily at the ceiling. "Is this a dream?" she asked, yawning.

_I wish_, thought Penny, but she said, "You know it's not. Now come on. Up, up, up."

Patty stretched her arms and sat up as Penny stood. She looked at Patty fondly, her daughter's hair crumpled and flying in ten different directions, lines on her face from her pillow. _The last time I'll see her like this_, thought Penny. She physically shook the thought away and said, "You get a shower. I'm going to go downstairs and start breakfast."

"Okay," said Patty.

Penny disappeared downstairs and by the time she got to the kitchen she could hear the shower running. They had decorated the conservatory (where Patty had wanted the wedding), last night. They had moved out the furniture and set up folding chairs in the room. Patty had insisted on hanging small white lights around the room, claiming they would look beautiful once night fell. The flowers were arriving that morning; pink and white roses. And that was it. Patty had insisted on keeping it simple, and Penny had no choice but to agree.

In the dining room she already had dishes set out for the food later (they were apparently eating buffet style, to Penny's displeasure). They had pushed the table against the wall and taken away the chairs. Patty had thought that the room would serve as a great dance floor for later, so their old record player was set up in the corner. Patty had agreed to let Gordie be in charge of the music. Penny simply shook her head in disbelief when Patty said that.

_It's her wedding_, Penny reminded herself for the hundredth time.

She made Patty's favorites for breakfast: Belgian waffles with strawberries and bananas, bacon, sausage and raisin toast. She knew that Patty, never a big eater, wouldn't be able to devour the entire meal, but Penny didn't care. This was her last chance to make breakfast for her daughter. She had just set down the plate of waffles on the table when Patty appeared in the doorway, still wearing her bathrobe, her hair in large curlers.

"Waffles!" said Patty as though she was surprised. She went over to the table and sat down, obviously eager to begin eating.

"Of course," said Penny.

Patty smiled. "Thanks, Mom," she said.

Penny shrugged, unable to speak, and set down a second plate filled with bacon and sausage. The toast was the last to finish, and when it was done, Penny set it on the table and collapsed in the chair across from Patty.

"This is too much, Mom," said Patty.

"Just eat what you can," said Penny, helping herself to a piece of toast.

Patty nodded and poked a fork into her waffle, dropping it on her plate and generously scooping strawberries and bananas on top of it.

"What time is Victor getting here?" asked Penny halfheartedly.

"Noon," said Patty. "Barry's coming with him and they're picking up Susan on the way too."

"Well your grandmother is coming over at eleven," said Penny, well aware that Patty knew this already. "She's bringing potatoes and fruit salad"–Penny involuntarily shuddered at this–"and a pasta dish and–"

"I know, Mom," said Patty, interrupting her mother. Penny wanted to look sharply at her, but Patty had such a spark in her eye that she simply couldn't.

"I know you do," she said instead. "I just..."

"I know," said Patty, smiling. "But you have the cake covered, right?"

Penny nodded. The fact that Patty had finally agreed that she could make the cake however she liked had made up for the fact that Victor's great-uncle George, who was a judge, was performing the ceremony. The man wheezed whenever he spoke and Penny wouldn't be surprised if he had an asthma attack in the middle of the ceremony. Patty had just been pleased that another member of Victor's family would be there for him. Sometimes Penny wondered how Patty, who was as unselfish as a person could possibly be, was her daughter.

In any case, the cake had made up for Penny's unspoken displeasure with the officiator. It was going to be the masterpiece in an otherwise family cook-out type meal. Three layers of decadent chocolate with coconut topping and a raspberry sauce on the side. Penny had been working on it since Patty had first mentioned the cake.

Patty had yet to see it, and Penny couldn't wait for her reaction.

By ten thirty the casual pretense of breakfast had ended. Patty had run upstairs to do her hair and Penny was cleaning all of the dishes and storing what she could of the massive amounts of leftover food, when the doorbell rang. Abandoning her post, Penny answered the door. The flowers had arrived: a bouquet of pink and white roses for Patty; a bouquet of pink roses for Susan; two pink boutonnieres for Victor and Barry; and a large collection of simple bouquets of white roses to set in the conservatory. Penny went about directing the delivery men and then took the bouquets and boutonnieres into the kitchen to store in the refrigerator until closer to the ceremony. Then she went back to finish the dishes.

By eleven the flowers were set up and Patience had arrived, bearing more food than Penny thought they'd need. Patience had gushed over everything that was already set up, much more impressed with the simplistic wedding Patty had set up than Penny was. Although Penny was glad her mother was there, she couldn't stand her getting underfoot in the kitchen, so she sent her upstairs to see Patty.

It was a little before noon when Penny finally had everything organized and ready to go. Patty came downstairs, her hair pulled back away from her face but left cascading down in soft curls in the back, to take one last look around. When the doorbell rang she scampered up the stairs, leaving Patience and Penny to open the door.

"Hi," said Victor when Penny opened the door. His smile looked a little forced, Penny thought, and she wondered if he was going to lose his breakfast all over the front porch.

"Ignore him," said the young man next to Victor, whom Penny took to be Barry. "He's just nervous." The young man stuck out his hand to Penny. "I'm Barry," he said.

"Penny Halliwell," said Penny, raising an eyebrow. She stepped back to let the two young men into the house. "Where's Susan?" she asked.

Barry jerked his head in the direction of the driveway. "She wanted to check her makeup or something, I dunno."

"Charming," said Penny of Barry's speech pattern.

Barry grinned, as though aware of Penny's impatient dismissal of him. "Hey, where should we change into these penguin suits?" he asked.

Penny sighed. "Mom," she said, "will you take them to the basement to change?"

"Sure," said Patience. She hooked her arms through Victor's and Barry's and with one boy on either side she led them towards the basement. Penny shook her head in disbelief.

Poking her head outside the front door she saw Susan leaning against the car, staring at the house like she didn't want to come in. "Susan," Penny called. Susan's head snapped towards the front door. "Are you coming in?" she asked.

Susan glanced at the house one more time and then started towards the front door. When she got there, Penny let her in and shut the door behind her. "Patty's up in her room," said Penny. "You can head up." Susan nodded, still seeming dazed, then went upstairs.

Penny checked her watch, groaned at the time, and headed upstairs to change for the ceremony. Once she was dressed, she popped into Patty's room quickly so she could see how things were coming along. For a second, she was stunned, scarcely recognizing the version of her daughter in front of her. Patty was wearing a long, sleek white gown with capped sleeved and a heart-shaped neckline. She looked...Penny shook her head. Patty looked grown up.

"What do you think, Mom?" asked Patty.

Penny smiled genuinely for the first time that day. "You look beautiful," she said a little breathlessly. Thankfully, the doorbell rang at that moment, and Penny didn't have to worry about crying before the wedding even began. "I'll be back soon," she promised Patty, and went downstairs to start playing hostess to the guests.

By one there were thirteen guests. Victor's brother had shown up, alongside his uncle Michael and aunt Angela. A young woman who said she was a co-worker of Victor came with a date. Cynthia and Bill were there without their son. Two of Patty's co-workers, Mary Ann and Harriet, came and so did a young woman named Charlotte, who Penny believed was the young witch Patty had mentioned meeting. Plus the family was there: Patience, Gordon and Gordie.

When Victor and Barry had taken their places in the conservatory nearby the judge, Penny went back upstairs and stood silently outside of Patty's door for a minute. Inside she could hear Patty and Susan giggling. _Please watch over Patty today,_ she said in silent prayer to Allen, and then she knocked on the door softly.

"Come in," said Patty, sounding happier than Penny had heard her in a long time.

Penny opened the door and said, "It's time to start, Patty."

Susan stood up and kissed Patty on the cheek and then headed into the hallway. Patty followed her, linking her arm through her mother's as they went downstairs. In the other room, Gordie had put on a record Penny didn't recognize, as a woman crooned lyrics about love into the air. Susan started for the conservatory and once she was in the front of the room, Penny started down the aisle with Patty. When they reached Victor, Penny kissed her daughter on the cheek and watched sadly as Patty took Victor's hand, her eyes focused purely on him. At least Victor didn't look nervous any more.

Sadly, Penny sat down in the chair next to her mother and watched Patty marry Victor.

She cried, half-joyful, half-sorrowful, the entire time.


End file.
